The Miami Herald has been doing a great job covering the criminal indictment and pending trial of US Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, and especially the recent hearing before the House Ethics Committee.

In fact, the Herald was the first news organization to connect her to “Haiti oil money” and North Miami Beach mayor Michael Joseph in an article published over a month ago on February 12, 2026.  That article referenced the House Ethics Committee report, which we first wrote about on January 30, 2026 in North Miami Beach Mayor Mike “Michael” Joseph is up to his old dirty tricks!

We watched that almost seven hour hearing on Thursday, first on C-Span cable television beginning at approximately 3:30 pm until 5:00 pm when the Committee took a break.  When the Committee reconvened at 6:15 pm we watched the rest of the hearing on YouTube.   We were not necessarily interested in the Congresswoman’s fate (although it does not look good for her!), but for any and all references to Michael Joseph.

We were not disappointed!

Beginning from hour 2:32:12 through hour 2:52:17 of the hearing video, Committee Senior Counsel Sydney Bellwoar argued on the Motion for Summary Judgment of March 6, 2026.  You can watch her presentation, which is already cued up, here:

At hour 2:44:26, Ms. Bellwoar begins explaining how Michael Joseph was involved in the campaign.  The most salient points (for our purposes anyway) of her demonstration are as follows:

“The record reveals that Respondent’s 2022 re-election campaign costs were largely and impermissibly paid for by companies and political action committees run by her friends and family.  According to bank records, the single largest source of the funds that ultimately went to these organizations in support of Respondent’s re-election campaign was Petrogaz-Haiti, which itself was primarily funded by the Haitian government during the relevant period.”

“Having demonstrated concerns about financing her re-election campaign, Respondent had a meeting with the owner of Petrogaz-Haiti arranged by the chair of her Leadership PAC, Michael Joseph.  A few days later, Petrogaz-Haiti started making payments to a newly created organization called Progressive People, Inc.  Progressive People was created by Michael Joseph and Respondent’s husband, who served as the President and Vice President, respectively.”

“Petrogaz-Haiti gave Progressive People $810,000.00 in 2022, which accounted for almost 90% of the funds that Progressive People raised that year.  The majority of that money, $725,000.00 was passed on to a company called Truth & Justice, Inc., which was run by Respondent’s campaign consultant, and spent nearly entirely for the campaign’s benefit.”

The interesting thing about the company, Truth & Justice, Inc., is that it was formed on August 31, 2021 by a shady political character, Gary Eugene Beasley, whose rap sheet includes arrests for 2nd degree murder, forgery, criminal contempt of court, trespassing, and resisting arrest without violence.  Curiously, it does not appear that he was found guilty on any of these charges.  He was, however, a major contributor to the dark money PAC that “endorsed” EX-Criminal Commissioner Paule Villard’s hilariously failed run for mayor in the North Miami Beach 2023 Special Election.

Apparently, this Gary Eugene Beasley character gets around, but we digress.

At hour 2:48:4 of the hearing video, Committee Senior Counsel Sydney Bellwoar revealed more antics of Michael Joseph after Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was elected.  She continued:

“As a member of Congress, Respondent has brought the same disregard for the rules to other ethical standards applicable to members.  Accepting volunteer services from a campaign adviser, including for French communications, and using her position to benefit her allies with special favors during the appropriations process.  Around the time that he was setting up Progressive People, Respondent’s friend and Leadership PAC treasurer, Michael Joseph, was contacting Respondent’s Congressional staff to pressure them to submit to specific community project funding requests to the Appropriations Committee.  When staff objected to some of the projects, Respondent overruled them, including using one of the fifteen slots for submissions on a project that one staffer had already identified as being ineligible.  She similarly prioritized a community project funding for an individual whose company provided messaging services to both Respondent’s campaign and her Congressional office. “

Later in the hearing, we learn that the “individual whose company provided messaging services” is one Freddie Figgers, CEO of Figgers Communication, Inc.

As we reported in an earlier blog, Figgers Communications is the company that was specifically mentioned in the Interim Investigative Report prepared by Algo Law Firm, LLC, which was hired by the North Miami Beach City Commission to investigate corruption at City Hall.

According to Algo’s Investigative Report:

“One of the critical findings was the allegation of the circumvention of the City’s purchasing authority and procurement process. Employee C described the approval and implementation of a contract with Figgers Communications for an emergency notification system, even though the City already had an effective $12,000 system (Code Red) in place. Figgers charged $48,000 per year without prior municipal experience. Employee C opposed this procurement and refused to sign a purchasing exception; however, approval was granted by Interim City Manager Andy Plotkin, allegedly under the influence of Chief of Staff/Interim Assistant City Manager Marlene Monastime.“

Furthermore, the Report stated:

“Overlapping Concerns with Mayor Joseph and Figgers Communications:

A federal investigation involving Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick which included mention of Mayor Joseph and Freddie Figgers (CEO of Figgers Communications) illustrates potential ethical and legal dilemmas surrounding public trust and the procurement processes.  There appears to be a complex relationship tying together the alleged coercive actions of Mayor Joseph listed above, the contracting practices with Figgers Communication, and the implications of their interactions concerning federal funding as alleged by United States House of Representatives Committee on Ethics December 16, 2025 report.”

It should also be noted, as we already reported, that the Office of Congressional Ethics also requested documentation and testimony from both Freddie Figgers and Michael Joseph regarding their involvement with this Community Project Funding, but both of them “refused to cooperate.”

When Michael Joseph introduced Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick to the owner of Petrogaz-Haiti, a foreign company “primarily funded by the Haitian government,” for the purpose of soliciting the company for campaign contributions, there is absolutely no way that Michael was unaware of 52 U.S. Code § 30121, which prohibits contributions and donations by foreign nationals.

Michael Joseph was the direct go-between for the purpose of soliciting campaign contributions for Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick from a foreign national.

Although the House Ethics Committee has no jurisdiction over private citizens, or even local elected officials, we are hoping that Miami State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle will finally stop protecting Michael Joseph from the consequences of his actions and do the job she was elected to do — ARREST THIS CRIMINAL!

Stephanie