Stephanie Hockridge: Former Phoenix news anchor indicted in connection with COVID relief fraud scheme

PHOENIX – Federal officials say a woman who once worked at a Phoenix television station has been indicted in connection with a COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.

In a statement, U.S. Justice Department officials said 41-year-old Stephanie Hockridge and her husband, 45-year-old Nathan Reis, are accused of submitting “false and fraudulent (Paycheck Protection Program) loan applications on behalf of themselves and their businesses, including by fabricating documents that they submitted in their loan applications in order to receive loan funds for which they were not entitled.”

Sore the U.S. Treasury Department’s website, the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, refers to a Small Business Administration program that provided small businesses with funds to pay up to eight weeks of labor costs, including benefits. The funds could also have been used to pay mortgage interest, rent and utilities. According to to the Associated Press, the plan cost 800 billion

The SBAs website states that the PPP ended on 31 May 2021.

The statement reveals details of the alleged scheme

Officials say the indictment was dropped on Nov. 21. They also say that both Hockridge and Reis currently live in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory located in the Caribbean.

Hockridge previously worked for KNXV-TV, otherwise known as ABC 15, in the Phoenix area. According to a video posted by ABC 15 on their YouTube page, Hockridge left the station in 2018. We reported first about the ties Hockridge and Reis had with Blueacorn in December 2022. Then a report by a US House investigative panel alleged that Blueacorn and another firm were linked to significant percentages of PPP loan applications with indicators of fraud.

According to federal officials, in April 2020 Hockridge and Reis founded a lender service provider called Blueacorn with the purported goal of helping small businesses and individuals obtain PPP loans.

“In order to obtain larger loans for certain PPP applicants, Reis and other co-conspirators allegedly fabricated documents, including payroll records, tax documentation and bank statements,” part of the affidavit read.

Investigators also say that as part of the alleged scheme, Hockridge, Reis and others expanded Blueacorn’s operations through deals with two lenders.

“Blueacorn collected and reviewed OPP applications from potential borrowers on behalf of lenders and worked with lenders to submit applications to SBA in exchange for a percentage of the fees SBA paid to lenders for approved OPP loans,” officials wrote.

In their affidavit, investigators also spoke of a program within Blueacorn in which Hockridge and others allegedly offered “a personalized service to help potential borrowers complete applications for OPP loans.”

“Reis and Hockridge allegedly recruited co-conspirators to work as VIPPP referral agents and coached borrowers on how to submit false PPP loan applications. In order to obtain a larger amount of repayments from borrowers and a percentage of lender fees from the SBA, Reis, Hockridge, and their co-conspirators submitted PPP loan applications that they knew contained materially false information,” part of the statement read.

Both Hockridge and Reis, according to federal officials, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. They face up to 20 years in prison on each charge if convicted.

According to the indictment, a warrant will be issued for Reis, while Hockridge will be issued a summons.