Former Democrat Congresswoman’s Husband Indicted On “Wire Fraud” Charges

The husband of former Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush faces charges for allegedly defrauding COVID-19 relief programs for his “personal benefit and enjoyment.”

“Cortney Merritts, 46, of St. Louis, Missouri, was charged today by federal indictment with two counts of wire fraud for allegedly filing fraudulent applications with the Small Business Administration in 2020 and 2021 that allowed him to collect more than $20,000 in government funds under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP),” the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia stated.

Former Congresswoman Cori Bush’s husband has been indicted by the DOJ with two counts of wire fraud for fraudulently collecting $20K in PPP loans pic.twitter.com/RSFXZy2cyI

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 20, 2025

From the New York Post:

Merritts received an $8,500 EIDL loan from the SBA for his moving business in July 2020 after certifying that his company, Vetted Couriers, had six employees and generated $32,000 in gross revenue the previous year, according to the indictment.

The day after receiving the EIDL loan, Merritts filed another application with SBA through the same program for a different business, which he identified only as “Courtney Merritts” and claimed it employed ten people and generated $53,000 in revenue.

The ex-congresswoman’s husband also requested an EIDL advance of up to $10,000 based on the number of employees “Courtney Merritts” employed.

SBA rejected Merritts’ applications after determining that the documents were “nearly identical” to the prior one he submitted.

The DC US Attorney’s Office, headed by Ed Martin, claims Merrits lied about the number of employees he had and his revenues in the rejected applications.

Cori Bush’s husband accused of stuffing his pockets with taxpayer cash intended for struggling businesses https://t.co/Gh87mcj2gw pic.twitter.com/fYZOZy77GM

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 21, 2025

WATCH:

Former-Rep. Cori Bush’s husband Cortney Merritts has been charged by the DOJ with wire fraud for defrauding two federal programs meant to give aid to businesses during the pandemic.

Merritts took $21K from the programs, allegedly spending it for personal use instead of business. pic.twitter.com/oSqhof3M9V

— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) March 21, 2025

Missouri Independent reports:

Federal prosecutors say he received a loan for $20,832 that was forgiven by the government.

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Bush served two terms representing a St. Louis-based seat in Congress before losing last year in the Democratic primary to Wesley Bell. She is not mentioned or accused of any wrongdoing in the indictment against her husband.

Controversy has swirled around the couple before when Bush hired Merritts as her security guard. A complaint was filed alleging Merritts’ employment with the Bush campaign violated federal law, but it was ultimately dismissed by the Office of Congressional Ethics.

Bush had attracted controversy for using campaign money to hire her husband, Merritts, as her security guard. But the Office of Congressional Ethics dismissed a complaint filed against Bush last fall alleging that her campaign’s employment of Merritts was a violation of federal election law.