Former ‘Squad’ Rep. Cori Bush’s Husband Indicted for Allegedly Pocketing $20K in PPP Loans for ‘personal benefit and enjoyment’; Husband of Former Squad Member Cori Bush Hit With Federal Charges in COVID Fraud Case, and other C-Virus related stories
Former ‘Squad’ Rep. Cori Bush’s husband indicted for allegedly pocketing $20K in PPP loans for ‘personal benefit and enjoyment’:
The husband of former Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) allegedly bilked taxpayers out of more than $20,000 in a COVID loan scheme and used the money for his “personal benefit and enjoyment,” according to the DC US Attorney’s Office.
Cortney Merritts, 46, was charged in a federal indictment Thursday with two counts of wire fraud related to allegedly fraudulent applications he filed with the Small Business Administration in 2020 and 2021 that allowed him to collect – and never repay – government funds from the pandemic-era Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Merritts received an $8,500 EIDL loan from the SBA for his moving business in July 2020 after certifying that his company, Vetted Couriers, had six employees and generated $32,000 in gross revenue the previous year, according to the indictment.
The day after receiving the EIDL loan, Merritts filed another application with SBA through the same program for a different business, which he identified only as “Courtney Merritts” and claimed it employed ten people and generated $53,000 in revenue.
The ex-congresswoman’s husband also requested an EIDL advance of up to $10,000 based on the number of employees “Courtney Merritts” employed. —>READ MORE HERE
Husband of Former Squad Member Cori Bush Hit With Federal Charges in COVID Fraud Case:
Former Missouri Rep. Cori Bush’s husband, Cortney Merritts, has been charged with defrauding the government by accepting fraudulent payments from the Small Business Administration (SBA) COVID aid program known as the Payment Protection Program (PPP).
Federal prosecutors say that Merritts falsified details about his SBA loans in 2020 and 2021. According to the SBA, the PPP was a “loan program designed to help businesses, including nonprofits, veterans organizations, and tribal business concerns, maintain payroll and other essential costs during the COVID-19 crisis.” The program offered potentially forgivable loans, with forgiveness tied to maintaining payroll and other eligible expenses.
It’s estimated that at least half of the $793 billion in PPP loans were fraudulent. Some of those loans went to billionaires and large corporations. It was the most obscenely mismanaged invitation to corruption in American history.
Prosecutors allege that Merritts, a former security officer and U.S. Army veteran, fraudulently obtained loans totaling $20,000.
“Mr. Merritts intends to plead not guilty to the charges,” Merritts’s lawyer, Justin Gelfand, 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.”
Merritts was already under a cloud of suspicion after Bush used campaign funds to hire him as a bodyguard when she was in Congress. The House Ethics Committee cleared Bush of all charges. —>READ MORE HERE
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