Cori Bush’s Husband Charged With Wire Fraud Linked To COVID Relief Funds: DOJ
The husband of former U.S. Representative Cori Bush, a Missouri Democrat, has been indicted for allegedly defrauding the federal government by obtaining $20,000 in pandemic relief funds, as stated by the Justice Department.
Federal prosecutors announced on Thursday that 46-year-old Cortney Merritts, a St. Louis resident, is accused of submitting fraudulent information about his purported businesses to secure loans from the Small Business Administration in 2020 and 2021.
According to Fox News, he now faces two counts of wire fraud.
“Mr. Merritts intends to plead not guilty to the charges,” said his attorney, Justin Gelfand of Margulis Gelfand DiRuzzo & Lambson, 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 claim that Merritts repeatedly applied for business loans, asserting that he operated a company while allegedly misrepresenting its revenue and employee count.
Prosecutors revealed that one of his applications, submitted in July 2020, was denied due to its striking resemblance to a previous submission.
His indictment follows a Justice Department probe into Cori Bush—a former member of the progressive “Squad”—over campaign funds allocated to her husband.
Bush lost her primary last year amid criticism of her response to Israel’s actions following the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas terrorists.
The so-called “Squad,” which Bush was previously part of, consists of left-wing lawmakers in Congress, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.
A government watchdog group had requested the Federal Elections Commission in March 2023 to investigate campaign payments made to Bush’s husband, as reported by Fox News.
“Bush’s campaign paid her now-husband, Cortney Merritts, $60,000 for security in 2022 despite him not having a private security license, which is needed to conduct such services in the St. Louis region. While Merritts collected the payments, Bush’s campaign also spent $225,281 with PEACE Security and $50,000 with an individual named Nathaniel Davis for personal protection,” Fox News stated.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust submitted a complaint to Lisa Stevenson, the then-acting general counsel for the FEC, requesting an investigation into whether “Rep. Cori Bush and her campaign committee may have used campaign funds for personal use.”
“It appears Rep. Bush’s campaign may have made payments for services that were unnecessary or above fair market value because of her personal relationship with the payee,” the watchdog group stated. “If so, these payments would qualify as either impermissible payments to a family member or an impermissible gift.”
The complaint further urged the FEC to investigate whether Bush “converted campaign funds for personal use by paying a salary that was not for bona fide services at fair market value.” It added, “Ultimately, if one or more campaign laws are found to have been broken, we request the FEC hold the respondents accountable.”
Allegations suggest that she authorized these payments to her husband even though he lacked the proper licensing to perform security services in St. Louis or any part of her congressional district.
“With the exception of St. Louis Police Officers, all persons performing a security function in the City of St. Louis must be licensed to do so through the Private Security Section,” according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s website.
Bush is not the only Democrat to face scrutiny over financial dealings involving family members in recent years.
Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California, has reportedly paid her daughter over $1.2 million since 2004, including significant payments during the 2022 election cycle.
“Karen Waters pocketed $192,300 from her mother’s campaign to keep her ‘slate mailer’ operation afloat between Jan. 2021 and Dec. 2022, a Fox News Digital review of Federal Election Commission filings shows. The setup involves outside campaigns paying Waters’ campaign to appear on the slate mailers – or endorsement mailers – sent out to constituents in the Los Angeles area,” Fox News reported.
The outlet further noted, “The practice is highly unusual on the federal level, and Waters appears to be the only national politician using it to grab committee cash.”