Stephanie Hockridge, a former Phoenix News anchor, who became a fintech businesswoman, was convicted of conspiracy to do a fraud fraud in a federal case involving hundreds of million dollars in Covid’s assistance funds.
The jury in the northern Texas County found Hockridge guilty of one conspiracy fraud wire. It was acquitted of fraud for four additional wires. The conviction is scheduled for October 10.
A Hockridge sentence was issued on Friday.
Stephanie Hockridge is a former television news anchor working in Phoenix. Facebook / Stephanie Hockridge
Hockridge was convicted of one conspiracy for wire fraud. Facebook / Stephanie Hockridge
According to federal prosecutors and investigation reports, Hockridge and her husband Nathan Reis received more than $ 300,000 loans to Paycheck (PPP) loans, including one application that falsely said he is a veteran and an African -American.
The BlueAcorn, a couple of Scottsdale, has processed more than $ 12.5 billion loans to $ 250 million, including the company’s property, including Hockridge.
According to Congress, BlueAcorn has received more than $ 1 billion taxpayers’ funded PPP loan facilities, but has spent less than 1% ($ 8.6 million) to prevent fraud and only $ 13.7 million.
Hockridge and her husband Nathan Reis is said to have received hundreds of millions of dollars in PPP loans. KPNX
The PPP was $ 800 billion in a federal loan initiative, started in 2020 to help small companies maintain employees during the Covidid-19 pandemic.
These were part of the broader effort, including grants, tax credits and emergency loans, aimed at stabilizing the US economy and preventing the closure and dismissal of mass business.
Investigators said the couple used income to personally enrich.
Congress said he received a video created by the trip and Hockridge, showing large amounts of cash at the bar in 2021. 21 December According to public data, the voyage moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico, which does not have any capital increase in tax after his work in Blueacorn.
2021 October 8 The video received by the Congress staff, which was geographic to San Juan, showed Hockridge and the balcony of a luxurious beach apartment.
According to the Congress report, BlueAcorn borrowers have regularly been able to regularly check the applicants and blame the unlawful “success fees” by violating the rules of small business administration.
The couple is said to have a pocket of $ 250 to $ 300 million in pocket for this scheme. Facebook / Stephanie Hockridge
The Congress report details how the BlueAcorn management indicated the employees to set priorities compared to accuracy.
The internal reports showed that the reviewers were told to “go beyond” dubious programs, ignore red flags and skip identity checks unless the fraud was “extremely obvious”. Some employees processed hundreds of loans without training – sometimes in 30 seconds.
It is claimed that the trip was unfairly received by the loans, stating that it is black. Facebook / Stephanie Hockridge
The subcommittee also revealed the existence of VIPPP program, which allowed large dollars to circumvent the standard viewing protocols for customers. The founders rejected smaller loan candidates such as “Delete them”, “what F – King Cares” and “They go elsewhere”.
Hockridge, 42, was once a familiar face in Arizona households. She spent seven years as an anchor KNXV-TV, ABC branch in Phoenix, and previously worked as a CBS News Radio London reporter.
She was nominated for Emmy and called “Favorite News Manager” Arizonos Foothills.
It is planned that the trip will be tried in 2025. August For related accusations. Prosecutors claim that he played a key role in directing the company’s activities and managing its financial distributions.
Hockridge spent seven years in anchoring the news of the Knxv-TV Phoenix. Facebook / Stephanie Hockridge
Hockridge’s verdict denotes one of the highest cases of PPP fraud associated with a public figure.
Fraud associated with Covid-19 help programs in US history has been unprecedented, and the losses have been estimated at hundreds of billions of $ 1 trillion.
PPPs, economic damage loans for disasters and unemployment insurance programs were particularly vulnerable – on -call observers reported widespread abuse of public abuse and systemic failure in the prevention of fraud.
The recording asked to comment on Hockridge and the way.