In a 25-page sentencing memorandum filed Tuesday, Corado's lawyer, Pleasant S. Brodnax III, asked U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden to impose a time-served sentence rather than incarceration, citing her lack of prior criminal history, decades of LGBTQ+ advocacy, and what the filing describes as the uniquely severe and dangerous conditions transgender women now face in federal custody, under the Trump administration.
Cherfilus-McCormick was scheduled to be arraigned, but her attorney requested the proceeding be rescheduled to Jan. 20 so that she could finalize her legal team. Prosecutors didn't object, and Judge Lisette Reid agreed to the new date. The hearing lasted less than five minutes. "I just want to make it very clear that I am innocent," Cherfilus-McCormick said immediately after leaving court. "In no way did I steal any kind of funds. I'm committed to the people of Florida and my district."
According to the complex case, the alleged misappropriation was part of a wider pattern of fiscal wrongdoing by Maple & Ash co-owner Jerald Lasky, his brother James Lasky and by companies controlled by them.