Former Valley newscaster, husband charged in COVID-19 loan fraud case
Nov 22, 2024, 2:30 PM
Stephanie Hockridge, a former Valley newscaster, and her husband have been charged in a COVID-19 loan fraud case. (YouTube Screenshot)
(YouTube Screenshot)
PHOENIX — A former Valley newscaster and her husband have been charged in a COVID-19 loan fraud case, authorities announced Friday.
Stephanie Hockridge (aka Stephanie Reis), 41, and Nathan Reis, 45, allegedly conspired to commit Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs.
Under an indictment unsealed Thursday in the Northern District of Texas, they each were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud.
The maximum penalty for each count is 20 years in prison, meaning they face the prospect of spending the rest of their lives behind bars if convicted on all charges.
Hockridge was a reporter and anchor for ABC15 until leaving the Phoenix TV station in 2018. The couple was living in Puerto Rico when they were indicted.
How did couple allegedly commit COVID-19 loan fraud?
An April 2020, Hockridge and Reis co-founded a company called Blueacorn, purportedly to help small businesses and individuals in obtaining PPP loans authorized by the federal COVID-19 relief package known as the CARES Act, prosecutors said.
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PPP loans were designed to help small businesses keep employees on their payroll during the coronavirus pandemic. The loans were guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Hockridge and Reis are accused of submitting fake documents so borrowers could obtain loans they weren’t eligible for and taking a cut of the funds as kickbacks.
They also allegedly recruited co-conspirators to the scheme.
The case is being prosecuted by the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. The Fraud Section has seized over $78 million in more than 130 other COVID-19 loan fraud cases, according to the DOJ.
