Former Missouri Democrat Rep. Cori Bush’s husband was charged with two counts of wire fraud for allegedly filing fraudulent applications to illegally collect more than $20,000 in federal COVID relief funds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Cortney Merritts, 46, of St. Louis, Missouri, was charged in a federal indictment Thursday after he allegedly filed the falsified documents with the Small Business Administration in 2020 and 2021 under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
According to the indictment, Merritts received an $8,500 EIDL loan from the SBA in July 2020 for a moving business called Vetted Couriers after certifying that he had six employees and had generated $32,000 in gross revenue the previous year.
The next day, Merritts submitted another application to the SBA for an EIDL loan for a business he called “Cortney Merritts” that he claimed employed 10 people and generated $53,000 in gross revenue.
The former congresswoman’s husband also requested an EIDL advance of up to $10,000 based on the number of employees “Cortney Merritts” reportedly had.
After determining that his second EIDL application was “nearly identical” to the first, the SBA rejected his attempt to obtain additional funds from the program, the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In April 2021, Merritts again sought COVID relief funds by applying for a PPP loan for “Cortney Merritts,” claiming this time that the business had been set up in 2020 and had generated $128,000 in gross income that year. He received a $20,832 PPP loan based on his representations about his gross income.
Federal prosecutors said “Merritts used the proceeds for his personal benefit and enjoyment,” without specifying how he had spent the money.
“In July 2022, Merritts submitted a loan forgiveness application in which he falsely claimed that this business had 10 employees at the time of the PPP loan, and that he spent the $20,832 on payroll costs,” the D.C. Attorney’s Office said. “Based on Merritts’ alleged fraudulent representations, the SBA forgave the PPP loan in the amount of $20,832 and the $254.03 in interest.”
Merritts’ attorney told The Washington Post that his client plans to plead not guilty.
“We look forward to litigating this case in the courtroom,” Justin Gelfand said.
Bush, who represented St. Louis until she lost her primary election in 2024, reportedly married Merritts in February 2023.
Merritts’ indictment comes about a year after the Justice Department investigated Bush over improper campaign payments to her husband.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that Bush dropped more than $812,000 in campaign funds on private security services and paid Merritts more than $150,000.
Bush reportedly continued to draw from her campaign funds to pay her husband $5,000 per month for security services after the Department of Justice launched its investigation.
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