A former TV anchor from Phoenix faces a decade in federal prison due to her involvement in a $63 million loan fraud scheme related to COVID-19, allegedly executed alongside her husband.
On Friday, a judge in Fort Worth, Texas, sentenced 42-year-old Stephanie Hockridge, who once anchored at KNXV and later became an entrepreneur, to 120 months in a federal facility in Bryan, Texas. However, there are opportunities for inmates to reduce their sentences by demonstrating good behavior.
The ex-anchor will join at least two notable criminals already incarcerated at the facility when she reports there on December 30. It’s a minimum-security prison that currently houses individuals like Ghislaine Maxwell, linked to Jeffrey Epstein, biotech fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, and reality star Jen Shah, who has a history of wire fraud. Interestingly, Shah is expected to be released before Hockridge’s arrival on December 10.
Besides her prison sentence, the judge mandated that Hockridge pay roughly $64 million in restitution and serve two years of supervised release after her time behind bars.
In June, a jury convicted her of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, although she was acquitted of four other wire fraud charges.
Hockridge and her husband, Nathan Reiss, established a company named Blue Acorn in April 2020 to help small businesses secure Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, intended to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic.
Federal prosecutors accused the couple of altering “payroll records, tax documents, and bank statements” to obtain significant loans for select PPP applicants. They allegedly took a cut based on the loan amounts from the borrowers, according to court documents.
In total, authorities claim Blue Acorn processed over $63 million in fraudulent PPP loans.
Mr. Hockridge, who previously worked as a reporter for CBS Radio in London, defended their actions as a sincere attempt to assist small businesses overwhelmed by government red tape during a time of “unprecedented need,” as reported.
Yet, a congressional investigation indicated that Blue Acorn often inadequately screened applicants and unlawfully charged success fees in violation of Small Business Administration regulations.
Back in December 2018, Hockridge’s ABC affiliate bid her farewell with a headline reading, “Thank you! Stephanie Hockridge on her final day on ABC15.”
In August, Reiss, 47, accepted a plea deal for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a potential maximum sentence of 20 years.
