Former Phoenix news anchor Stephanie Hockridge was sentenced Friday to 10 years in federal prison for her role in one of the largest Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud schemes connected to any public figure — a brazen operation that stole tens of millions of dollars from a program meant to keep struggling American businesses alive during the pandemic.
A Texas federal court also ordered Hockridge to pay nearly $64 million in restitution after finding she helped funnel fraudulent COVID relief loans through Blueacorn, a company she co-founded with her husband, Nathan Reis.
Hockridge was convicted in June on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She is expected to report to federal prison on December 30 and will serve her sentence at the minimum-security Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas — the same facility housing disgraced elites such as Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.
According to prosecutors, Hockridge and Reis launched Blueacorn in 2020 under the guise of helping small businesses obtain PPP loans. Instead, investigators found the operation was a machine for mass-producing fraudulent applications. The company processed more than $63 million in bogus loans, charging applicants illegal kickbacks and submitting paperwork to the Small Business Administration that they “knew were loaded with fraudulent information.”
Stephanie Hockridge, a co-founder of the PPP loan processing company Blueacorn, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in June 2025. pic.twitter.com/4gOeOkuytM
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) November 22, 2025
The couple even secured more than $300,000 in PPP funds for themselves, according to the Justice Department.
A congressional probe later exposed the inner workings of Blueacorn, concluding that the firm routinely ignored basic vetting procedures, charged unlawful “success fees,” and directed staff to prioritize sheer volume over accuracy — a formula that allowed fraud to flourish while taxpayers footed the bill.
Reis accepted a plea deal in August and is awaiting his own sentencing.
Before entering the world of pandemic profiteering, Hockridge had built a high-profile media career. She was an Emmy nominee, named “Favorite Newscaster” by Arizona Foothills Magazine, and anchored at Phoenix’s ABC15 (KNXV-TV) from 2011 to 2018. She also reported for CBS News Radio in London.
Her fall from grace is striking — from a trusted broadcast journalist to a central figure in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme that preyed on a crisis devastating families and small businesses.
The PPP program, created under bipartisan emergency legislation during the COVID-19 pandemic, was designed to help employers keep workers on payroll during lockdowns. But under the loosened rules and rushed rollout, fraud became rampant — with scammers exploiting government vulnerability at a time when Americans were desperate for help. The Hockridge-Reis scheme now stands among the most egregious examples.
As the administrations has pledged to crack down on pandemic fraud, Hockridge’s sentence sends a clear message: exploiting a national emergency for personal gain carries severe consequences.
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