A former TV news anchor—who was nominated for an Emmy—has been caught up in a significant Covid fraud scandal involving a billion-dollar scheme. Stephanie Hockridge Reis, once a familiar face at a local Phoenix station, now a fintech startup entrepreneur, sent her husband Nathan Reiss a shocking text. This text came after she applied for a Payment Protection Program (PPP) loan during the pandemic.
She texted him, rather casually, “This is about to apply for free money — when we’re not fully qualified. Lol,” her husband, 47, apparently found it amusing. But it doesn’t seem like a laughing matter for the taxpayers.
The couple allegedly fraudulently secured over $300,000 in PPP loans. This included an application where Reiss falsely claimed to be both a veteran and African American.
Wraith is set to enter a plea agreement on Monday, and sentencing is scheduled for November.
In June, Hockridge Reis, 42, was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud, while a judge acquitted her of four additional wire fraud charges. A verdict on additional charges is coming on October 10th, and she could face up to 20 years in prison.
The couple has remained silent, with no comments issued so far.
Co-founded in 2020, BlueaCorn, a fintech firm based in Scottsdale, processed over $12.5 billion in PPP loans. Yet, a Congressional investigation revealed that while it received more than $1 billion in taxpayer-funded processing costs, only a tiny fraction—about 1%—went toward fraud prevention. And even less, $13.7 million, was allocated for verifying eligibility.
The PPP was a massive $800 billion federal initiative introduced in 2020, designed to help small businesses retain their workforce during the pandemic. This effort aimed to stabilize the U.S. economy but has faced significant scrutiny, particularly concerning fraud.
Interestingly, Hockridge Reis defended her actions as genuine efforts to aid small businesses during a chaotic time, arguing that the government processes were confusing then.
In a lawsuit, Congress obtained a video featuring both Hockridge and Reiss flaunting large amounts of cash at a bar back in December 2021. Another video from some months earlier shows the couple on the balcony of an upscale beachfront apartment in San Juan.
As per Congressional reports, BlueaCorn is alleged to have mishandled applicants and charged borrowers illicit “success fees,” breaching SME management rules and prioritizing speed over thoroughness.
Once, Hockridge Reis was quite the household name in Arizona, having anchored at KNXV-TV for seven years and previously worked as a reporter for CBS News Radio in London. She even earned an Emmy nomination and was considered a “Favorite Newscaster” by a local magazine back in 2014.
This case has cropped up among the most notorious in the realm of PPP fraud, highlighting an unprecedented level of financial crime amidst the Covid relief efforts.
The losses associated with the Covid-19 Relief Program are estimated to be in the hundreds of billions, revealing serious vulnerabilities across various support initiatives like PPP, unemployment insurance, and more.
