A federal court in DC accused the husband of former Democrat Missouri Rep. Kori Bush of fraudulently acquiring more than $20,000 from the pay protection and economic injury disaster loan program during the pandemic.

Courtney Meritz, 46, faces federal accusations and is being charged with two wire fraud allegedly exploiting a Small Business Management (SBA) loan program during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to to indictment. Merritts is said to have secured more than $20,000 in fraudulent applications filed under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) and Payroll Protection Program (PPP) in 2020 and 2021.

US lawyer Edward Martin Jr., along with leading federal agents, said Merritz had manipulated SBA regulations designed to help struggling businesses. On July 7, 2020, Merritz allegedly claimed a $8,500 EIDL loan from its six employees and a review courier, a business with $32,000 in total annual revenue. A day later, Meritz applied for another EIDL loan. This time, as the sole owner, he inflated employee counts to 10 and reported revenues of $53,000. The SBA rejected additional funds when he discovered that his application was roughly the same.

On April 22, 2021, the fraudulent scheme escalated when Merritz secured a $20,832 PPP loan by mistakenly declaring a new business with a total revenue of $128,000. He later filed for forgiveness of the loan, claiming that he used the funds for payroll costs despite the funds being used for personal purposes. The SBA ultimately allowed a PPP loan containing interest based on his deceptive claims.

In light of Bush’s husband’s recent legal challenges, it was reported that she continued to pay him despite ongoing federal investigations. Federal Election Commission data shows that between April 12 and June 30, Bush paid her husband $15,000 in scrutiny of past campaign spending, including payments to Meritz, as reported by the New York Times. (Related: DEM officials tell reporters that they “defend” the infrastructure bill despite voting against it.)

Bush’s Congressional career comes as pro-Israel groups such as the American Jewish Democratic Congress and the American Israeli Public Affairs Commission provided significant funding to her major opposition. Bush’s tenure was plagued by counterfeiting accusations and strange incidents that likely played a role in her political decline.

Bush’s tenure was also plagued by controversial proposals, such as the 2023 call for $14 trillion in reparations and her proposal to refund the Pentagon, which is likely to have contributed to her political agenda.

Bush did not immediately respond to a Daily Caller News Foundation request for comment.

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