Indicted Dem Rep Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Spent $200,000 in Taxpayer Funds on Luxury Chauffeur Service

Easy Way Luxury is a Miami-based chauffeur company that offers the "pinnacle of luxury and sophistication" to VIP clients "who demand the very best." One of its top customers is indicted Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D., Fla.), who has spent more than $200,000 in taxpayer funds with the firm and its owner since taking office in January 2022, House payment records show.

Cherfilus-McCormick is well-versed in using taxpayer funds to boost her own standard of living. Federal prosecutors charged her in November for the role she played in an alleged scheme that saw her family-owned health care company rake in more than $5 million from fraudulent COVID-related FEMA invoices, funds which she then used to pay for a $109,000 three-carat yellow diamond ring and to bankroll her political campaign. Cherfilus-McCormick won that campaign in December 2021 by just five votes and featured the diamond ring in her official congressional portrait. After taking office in January 2022, Cherfilus-McCormick received access to her Members' Representational Allowance, a pool of taxpayer funds provided to every member of Congress designed to pay for the "necessary expenses" incurred representing their district.

From 2022 through 2024, Cherfilus-McCormick doled out $118,000 from her office budget across several dozen increments to Mauricio Pereira De Barros, a Miami man who co-owns the Florida company that does business as Easy Way Luxury. The indicted congresswoman reported the payments to De Barros as a mix of "non-technology service contracts" and "taxi/ride shares," according to the House Statement of Disbursements.

The Florida Democrat also reported a $240 payment to De Barros for "janitorial and maintenance services" for an unknown incident that occurred on July 10, 2023. Cherfilus-McCormick and De Barros did not return requests for comment.

Cherfilus-McCormick upped her luxury chauffeur budget significantly in 2025, reporting $55,000 in payments directly to Easy Way Luxury from her taxpayer-funded office budget on top of an additional $30,000 to De Barros, House spending records show.

It's unclear why Cherfilus-McCormick deemed it necessary to spend over $200,000 in taxpayer funds on a luxury chauffeur service. Transportation is a necessary expense for members of Congress, who have wide latitude in determining how to use their taxpayer-funded office budget to move from point to point while on the job. Some members use their personal vehicles and file for reimbursement using the IRS's mileage rate. Others have their staffers take the wheel, or hire an Uber or some other commercial-level cab service.

To watchdog attorney Dan Backer, who filed a criminal referral against Cherfilus-McCormick several months before her indictment in November, the answer is simple.

"I don't know why it would surprise anyone that somebody who is so crooked that she stole taxpayer funding intended to care for people during the COVID emergency to fund her own political campaign is also going to steal from taxpayers to enrich her friends with completely inappropriate luxury cab rides," Backer told the Washington Free Beacon.

It's possible Cherfilus-McCormick got more than just cab rides with the more than $200,000 she spent with Easy Way Luxury and its owner. The firm says on its website that it offers "tailored luxury experiences in Miami," which include private tours of Miami and its coastline in chartered yachts, access to personal shoppers in high-end luxury stores, and VIP tickets for NBA games, Formula 1 events, and other major events. The company also says it dabbles in private event planning, coordinating "exclusive parties" and "elite gatherings" for its "distinguished clients."

"Your journey deserves more than just a ride. It deserves Easy Way Luxury," the firm said in a Facebook post.

News of Cherfilus-McCormick's taxpayer-funded luxury cab budget comes as House Republicans are threatening a vote to expel her from Congress due to her criminal indictment in November. Cherfilus-McCormick is scheduled to attend a rare public hearing before the House Ethics Committee on March 26, where she's expected to defend herself against the committee's report that she violated House rules 27 times since taking office.

The House Ethics Committee's report mirrors much of what federal prosecutors alleged in their criminal indictment in November, while also finding that Cherfilus-McCormick and her family solicited more than $800,000 from a politically connected Haitian oil company during her 2022 reelection campaign, the Miami Herald reported.

Cherfilus-McCormick professed her innocence in a statement after being charged in November.

"This is an unjust, baseless, sham indictment — and I am innocent," she said. "The timing alone is curious and clearly meant to distract from far more pressing national issues. From day one, I have fully cooperated with every lawful request, and I will continue to do so until this matter is resolved." Cherfilus-McCormick faces up to 53 years in prison for her role in the alleged FEMA money laundering scheme. Her trial is scheduled to start April 20.

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