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The husband of former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, was indicted Thursday in Washington on two counts of wire fraud related to federal COVID relief programs.

Cortney Merritts, 46, of St. Louis, allegedly filed fraudulent applications in 2020 and 2021 that allowed him to collect more than $20,000 in government funds under two Small Business Administration programs, authorities said.

The indictment was announced in a news release issued by Edward Martin Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, and officials with the SBA and the FBI. Martin is a former St. Louisan and ex-Missouri Republican leader.

According to the release, the indictment alleges that Merritts in July 2020 received an $8,500 Economic Injury Disaster Loan for a moving business he operated that he called Vetted Couriers.

The release said Merritts certified in his application that his business had six employees and had generated $32,000 in gross revenue between Jan. 30, 2019, and Jan. 30, 2020.

A day later, the indictment said, Merritts submitted another application for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan in the name of a sole proprietorship he called “Cortney Merritts.�

The release said Merritts fraudulently claimed in that application to have a business that employed 10 people and generated $53,000 in gross revenue between Jan. 30, 2019, and Jan. 30, 2020.

Merritts also requested an Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance of up to $10,000 based on his false claim about employing 10 people, the release stated.

The Small Business Administration rejected Merritts’ attempt to obtain additional EIDL funds after it found that his July 2020 application was nearly identical to the prior one, the release said.

The release says the indictment also alleges that Merritts in 2021 applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan in the name of a sole proprietorship he called “Cortney Merritts.�

That application, the release said, fraudulently claimed that he had created this business in 2020 and that it had generated $128,000 in gross income that year.

Merritts received a $20,832 PPP loan and used the proceeds “for his personal benefit and enjoyment,� the news release said.

Then in 2022, the release said, Merritts applied for loan forgiveness, falsely claiming his business had 10 employees at the time of the PPP loan and that he spent the $20,832 on payroll costs.

Merritts’ PPP loan for $20,832 and $254.03 in interest were forgiven based on his alleged fraudulent statements, the news release said.

An attorney for Merritts, Justin Gelfand, said Thursday night in a statement that Merritts intends to plead not guilty to the charges.

“As with any indictment, this is only the Government’s version of the story,� Gelfand said. “We look forward to litigating this case in federal court in Washington.�

Bush, who isn’t accused of any wrongdoing, lost her reelection bid in last August’s Democratic primary to former St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell. Bell went on to win the 1st District House seat in the November election.

The Department of Justice previously subpoenaed records from Bush, the Post-Dispatch reported in early 2024, as part of an investigation into her campaign spending, but that has not resulted in any charges.

The separate case announced Thursday has been investigated by the SBA’s inspector general’s office and the FBI Washington field office.

Martin, a conservative activist and a former Missouri GOP state chairman, was recently named U.S. attorney for D.C. by President Donald Trump.

Merritts and Bush

Merritts first made news in February 2023 — while he was a member of Bush’s campaign committee security detail — when he and Bush were married around Valentine’s Day.

Merritts began working for the Bush campaign in January 2022, according to federal election reports. At the time of their marriage, Bush staffers reported that the two had been in a relationship before Merritts began working for the campaign.

After they were married, Merritts continued to work in Bush’s security service. Several months after the wedding, Merritts had his job description changed to where he no longer was listed as security but simply as a “wage expense.�

Until Bush left office at the end of 2024, Merritts continued being paid about $65,000 a year.

One month after the couple married, Merritts’ employment caused a conservative group, the Committee to Defeat the President, to file a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics. The complaint alleged that the Bush campaign’s employment of Merritts violated federal election laws.

Seven months later, in October 2023, the Office of Congressional Ethics dismissed the complaint on a unanimous vote.

At that time, Bush said the complaint against her husband was politically motivated and was a “clear example of how right-wing extremist groups will stop at nothing to malign those of us unapologetically working in service of our communities.�

Joe Holleman and Mark Schlinkmann of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.