Cortney Merritts, the husband of former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, has been charged with wire fraud after allegedly defrauding the government out of $20,000 in pandemic-era loans, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

Merritts, 46, of St. Louis, is accused of falsifying details about his business to secure funds from the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs in 2020 and 2021. Prosecutors say he misrepresented his business’s revenue and the number of employees in multiple applications.

One loan application submitted in July 2020 was rejected because it was nearly identical to a previous one, according to federal prosecutors, Fox News reports.

“Mr. Merritts intends to plead not guilty to the charges,” his attorney, 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.”

The DOJ writes: “The indictment further alleges that on April 22, 2021, Merritts applied for a PPP loan in the name of a sole proprietorship he called “Cortney Merritts.”  Merritts fraudulently claimed in this application that he had created this business in 2020 and that it had generated $128,000 in gross income that year. Based on Merritts’ representations about his gross income, Merritts received a $20,832 PPP loan. Merritts used the proceeds for his personal benefit and enjoyment.  In July 2022, Merritts submitted a loan forgiveness application in which he falsely claimed that this business had 10 employees at the time of the PPP loan, and that he spent the $20,832 on payroll costs. Based on Merritts’ alleged fraudulent representations, the SBA forgave the PPP loan in the amount of $20,832 and the $254.03 in interest.”

The indictment comes a year after the Justice Department launched an investigation into Bush over campaign payments made to Merritts.

Bush, a Democrat and former member of the progressive “Squad,” lost her primary race last year following controversy over her criticism of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.

The “Squad” is an informal group of left-wing lawmakers in Congress, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.