Disgraced ex-TV anchor Stephanie Hockridge will spend the next ten years behind bars for her role in a multi-million-dollar COVID fraud scheme – serving her time in the same cushy lockup as notorious sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
The 42-year-old, a former Phoenix TV anchor turned entrepreneur, was sentenced in Texas federal court Friday and ordered to cough up nearly $64 million in restitution for the bogus Paycheck Protection Program loans she helped secure during the height of the pandemic, the Justice Department announced.
Hockridge, found guilty in June of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, will report to prison on Dec. 30.
Stephanie Hockridge, 42, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Texas federal court Friday. Facebook / Stephanie Hockridge
She will be locked up at Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas — the same minimum-security facility that houses Jeffrey Epstein’s madam, disgraced Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, and “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” scammer Jen Shah, AZ Family reported.
Hockridge and her husband, Nathan Reis, founded a lending-services company called Blueacorn in 2020, which they claimed was designed to help small businesses secure federal Paycheck Protection Program loans at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But prosecutors said couple’s Scottsdale-based firm charged borrowers kickbacks based on percentage of the funds received — and submitted applications to the US Small Business Administration, which ran the PPP program, they knew where loaded with fraudulent information.
In one application, Reis reportedly falsely claimed he was a veteran and an African American.
Hockridge and her husband, Nathan Reis, fraudulently obtained over $300,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for themselves. ABC15 Arizona
In total, they processed more than $63 million in bogus PPP loans, according to the DOJ.
The PPP was an $800 billion federal loan initiative launched in 2020 to help small businesses keep workers employed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investigators alleged that the couple used the proceeds to enrich themselves personally.
Her conviction marks one of the highest-profile PPP fraud cases to date involving a public figure. Facebook / Stephanie Hockridge
The former KNXV-TV anchor claimed that her actions were a “sincere effort to support small businesses” in navigating a chaotic government problem during an era of “unprecedented need.”
But a congressional report found that Blueacorn routinely failed to properly vet applicants and charged illegal “success fees” to borrowers — violating Small Business Administration rules.
The report also detailed how Blueacorn’s leadership instructed staff to prioritize speed over accuracy.
She will be locked up at the same minimum-security facility that houses Jeffrey Epstein’s madam and notorious sex trafficker Ghisliane Maxwell. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Reis took a plea deal in August and will be sentenced in December.
Hockridge spent seven years as an anchor at KNXV-TV, the ABC affiliate in Phoenix, and had previously worked as a reporter for CBS News Radio in London.
She was nominated for an Emmy and named “Favorite Newscaster” by Arizona Foothills Magazine.
Her conviction marks one of the highest-profile PPP fraud cases to date involving a public figure.