Former 'Squad' Rep. Cori Bush's husband charged with wire fraud related to COVID relief funds

Former Democratic Missouri Rep. Cori Bush's husband on Thursday was charged with two counts of wire fraud over allegedly accepting $20,000 in payments from the Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs.

Federal prosecutors accused Bush's husband, Cortney Merritts, of falsifying information to get loans from the Small Business Administration during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The alleged lies include the number of people he allegedly employed and the business' revenue, per Fox News.

"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."

The indictment comes one year after the Justice Department opened an investigation into Bush for alleged payments she made to Merritts. The status of the Justice Department investigation is not clear, but the Office of Congressional Ethics has dismissed two complaints against her related to her hiring Merritts as a security guard, according to the Missouri Independent.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.