Why did Stephanie Hockridge leave ABC15? Exit explained as former anchor sentenced in $64M pandemic fraud scheme

Stephanie Hockridge has been sentenced for 10 years for her alleged involvement in a wire fraud conspiracy, aiming to obtain millions from the COVID-19 relief funds. The news anchor was convicted on multiple counts in June this year, as per the New York Post.

The verdict was announced last week on Friday, November 21, when Hockridge appeared in court. AZ Central stated that Stephanie worked at ABC15 for seven years until she left to establish a financial technology company called Blueacorn with her husband, Nathan Reis.

Stephanie’s legal team attempted to get a new trial, claiming that the prosecution did not reveal the important evidence at the beginning. However, the request was dismissed.

Stephanie Hockridge will be sent to the Texas-based Federal Prison Camp, and the court has told her to report to the place by December 30 this year. Nathan’s sentencing is also scheduled in the same month after accepting a plea deal.

Apart from that, the court has ordered a supervised release of two years. Furthermore, Hockridge and her co-defendants must pay a restitution amount of around $64 million. The entire sum will be sent to the Small Business Administration, which was operating the PPP loan program, as per AZ Central.

According to the prosecutors, Hockridge and Reis reportedly tried to acquire the relief funds through fake PPP applications. The duo’s company also processed large amounts of PPP loans and received processing fees worth $1 billion, funded by taxpayers.

Stephanie Hockridge employed multiple people to help with the applications: Allegations and more explained

A press release from the U.S. Department of Justice said that the loans were being sanctioned under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also called CARES.

Stephanie Hockridge’s company aimed to help certain people acquire PPP loans. Notably, Stephanie was assisted by her co-conspirators to obtain the funds, where they illegally charged the borrowers based on the amount received by them. The entire group allegedly used false documents in the form of bank statements and other things to get bigger amounts for the applicants.

The clients were additionally provided a service known as VIPPP to help the borrowers fill up the applications and used several agents to teach the borrowers about the submission process of fake applications. The group reportedly acquired $63 million in the whole conspiracy, as stated in the press release.

The PPP initiative was intended to ensure that the businesses keep running without layoffs. According to the investigators, the profits earned from the conspiracy were used by Stephanie Hockridge and her husband for their personal needs.

As per the New York Post, Congress also found a video where the pair was allegedly spotted displaying a lot of cash inside a bar around four years ago. Another clip was later discovered, which shows the couple on the balcony of a luxurious apartment.

A congressional report also claimed that certain staff members of Blueacorn processed multiple loans in a few seconds without any training. The report says that the company preferred to complete activities on time without focusing on accuracy.

AZ Foothills Magazine says that Stephanie Hockridge worked at various places, such as Kansas City, before she joined ABC15.