A former television news anchor who reinvented herself as a startup co-founder during the COVID-19 pandemic has been sentenced to a decade in federal prison for her role in a sweeping loan fraud scheme worth tens of millions of dollars.
According to Fox News, Stephanie Hockridge, 42, was ordered Friday to serve 10 years at a Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas — the same facility that houses high-profile inmates including Ghislaine Maxwell, Elizabeth Holmes, and former reality TV star Jennifer Shah. She must also pay more than $63 million in restitution.
Earlier this year, a federal grand jury convicted Hockridge on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors said she played a central role in “a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $63 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.”
According to the Department of Justice, Hockridge co-founded the lender service provider Blueacorn in April 2020 as the first wave of pandemic shutdowns rocked the economy. The company promoted itself as a tool to help small businesses file PPP loan applications. Before launching Blueacorn, Hockridge worked as a TV anchor for KNXV in Phoenix.
But federal investigators uncovered internal messages showing Hockridge instructing staff to prioritize so-called “VIPPP” applicants — clients whose loans were expected to be far larger than typical PPP borrowers.
“To get larger loans for certain PPP applicants, Hockridge and her co-conspirators fabricated documents, including payroll records, tax documentation, and bank statements,” the DOJ wrote in a press release. “Hockridge and her co-conspirators charged borrowers kickbacks based on a percentage of the funds received.”
Despite the mountain of evidence presented at trial, Hockridge insisted Blueacorn was created with good intentions. She told the New York Post the company was a “sincere effort to support small businesses” during a moment of national crisis.
The PPP was designed to help employers keep workers paid, rehire staff who had been laid off, and cover critical operating costs like rent, utilities, and mortgage interest during the pandemic.
Hockridge will now serve her sentence alongside Maxwell, who is serving 20 years for assisting Jeffrey Epstein in the sexual exploitation of minor girls. Holmes and Shah are also incarcerated at the same Bryan facility, making it one of the most high-profile women’s prison camps in the federal system.
