SUMMARY
The Trump administration’s Department of Justice announced the indictment of Cortney Merritts, 46, of St. Louis, Missouri, on two counts of wire fraud. Merritts, husband of former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), is accused of submitting fraudulent applications to the Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2020 and 2021, securing over $20,000 through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection (PPP) programs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia detailed that Merritts falsely claimed business revenues and employee counts for ventures like Vetted Couriers and a sole proprietorship, netting an $8,500 EIDL loan and a $20,832 PPP loan, which he allegedly used for personal gain. In 2022, he secured forgiveness of the PPP loan by misrepresenting payroll expenses. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, alongside SBA and FBI officials, unsealed the charges, with the case under investigation by the SBA Office of Inspector General and FBI Washington Field Office.
