Democrat Squad firebrand Cori Bushs husband charged with $20,000 COVID wire fraud
A former Democratic lawmaker and BLM activists husband has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly lying on COVID relief forms.
A former Democratic lawmaker and BLM activists husband has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly lying on COVID relief forms.
Cortney Merritts, 46, the husband of Cori Bush, who represented a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, from 2021 to 2025, was charged in a federal indictment on Thursday.
Bush, a member of the progressive Squad alongside Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and more, lost her bid for reelection in November.
Her husband is accused of collecting over $20,000 in government funds from the Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2020 and 2021 after filing allegedly fraudulent applications.
According to the indictment, Merritts received $8,500 from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) in July 2020 after requesting funds for a moving business he operated called Vetted Couriers.
His application stated he employed six people and generated $32,000 in revenue during the prior year.
The next day, on July 8, 2020, Merritts submitted another EIDL request, this time under a proprietorship called Cortney Merritts. In it, he claimed he had 10 employees and made $53,000 in revenue.
This application was denied for being nearly identical to the application he sent the day before, and federal authorities allege that the request was fraudulent.
Cortney Merritts served as Cori Bushs security guard before the two got married in 2023
Former Rep. Cori Bush and her husband Cortney Merritts
Bush was investigated for her security payments to Merritts. She spent over $750,000 on private security during her four years in Congress
The following year, on April 22, 2021, Merritts again applied for federal money under his own name, this time from the PPP, in which he claimed to have 10 employees and $128,000 in revenue, according to the indictment.
He received over $20,000 for this PPP request, though federal officials allege he committed fraud on this application too.
Mr. Merritts intends to plead not guilty to the charges, Merritts lawyer, Justin Gelfand said in a statement to Fox News.
As with any indictment, this is only the governments version of the story. We look forward to litigating this case in federal court in Washington, D.C.
A year ago Bush and Merritts were embroiled in controversy after the Office of Congressional Ethics opened an investigation into the former lawmaker for allegedly misusing campaign funds.
The investigation was to determine whether Bush illegally paid Merritts campaign funds after hiring him as her personal security guard.
Bush paid over $750,000 for private security while in office.
She doled out $60,000 to Merritts in 2022 and $42,500 in 2023, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Before starting as Bushs security guard Merritts operated a moving company
The pair married in February 2023.
No charges have yet come from the investigation.
Since before I was sworn into office, I have endured relentless threats to my physical safety and life, Bush told reporters of the probe into her campaign funds last year.
Instead, she claimed she has used campaign funds to retain security services, including her husband who she said has extensive experience in the field.
I have not used any federal tax dollars for personal security services. Any reporting that I have used federal funds for personal security is simply false, she insisted.
Since leaving Congress Bush and her fellow former Squad member Jamaal Bowman, who similarly lost reelection in November, have started a monthly podcast.