Cori Bush’s Husband Charged With Wire Fraud Linked To COVID Relief Funds: DOJ
The husband of former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, a Democrat from Missouri, has been charged with defrauding the federal government after allegedly receiving $20,000 in pandemic relief funds, according to the Justice Department.Federal prosecutors said Thursday that 46-year-old Cortney Merritts of St. Louis submitted false information about his supposed businesses to secure loans from the Small Business Administration in 2020 and 2021.He now faces two counts of wire fraud, Fox News reported.“Mr. Merritts intends to plead not guilty to the charges,” Merritts’ lawyer, Justin Gelfand of Margulis Gelfand DiRuzzo & Lambson, said in a statement. “As with any indictment, this is only the government’s version of the story. We look forward to litigating this case in federal court in Washington, D.C.”
Authorities say Merritts repeatedly applied for business loans, claiming to run a company while allegedly misrepresenting both its revenue and the number of employees he had.
Prosecutors said one of Merritts’ loan applications, submitted in July 2020, was denied because it closely resembled an earlier application he had filed.
His indictment comes a year after the Justice Department launched an investigation into Cori Bush—a former member of the progressive “Squad”—over campaign payments made to her husband.
