The husband of former US Rep. Kori Bush, a Missouri Democrat, was accused of government fraud after allegedly accepting $20,000 payments from the pandemic-era pay protection and economic injury disaster financing program, the Justice Department said.
Courtney Meritz, 46, of St. Louis, forged details about his alleged business to get loans from small business managers in 2020 and 2021, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
He was charged with two wire fraud.
Cori Bush’s campaign pays her husband another $17,500, bringing his total to $120,000, a new filing show
Former Congressman Kori Bush, D-Mo. and her husband Courtney Meritz, 46, he was charged with wire fraud. (Getty Images)
“Mr. Meritz intends to plead not guilty to the charges,” Justin Gelfund of Margueris Gelfund Dilzzo and Rambson, Meritz’s lawyer, said in a statement. “Like any other indictment, this is just a version of the government’s story. We look forward to litigating this case in federal court in Washington, D.C..”
Merritts has repeatedly applied for business loans from the company he said he runs, but is allegedly misrepresented his income and the number of people he employed, authorities said.
Koribush’s campaign pays her husband thousands of dollars for personal safety
Rep. Kori Bush, D-Mo. will give a concession speech at the primary election monitoring party in St. Louis on August 6, 2024. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
The loan application for July 2020 was almost identical to what he had filed earlier, so the loan application was denied, prosecutors said.
Merritz was charged a year after the Justice Department began investigating Bush, a former member of the “team” for payments for her husband for the campaign.
Bush was defeated last year’s primary on October 7, 2023 amid a controversy over her criticism of Israel’s reaction to Hamas terrorists’ attacks on civilians.
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The so-called “squad” bush, which previously belonged to, is an informal group of progressive lawmakers in Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y. Includes: Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. ; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass. Rashida Trave, D-Mich.
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