Ex-TV news anchor Stephanie Hockridge convicted in massive scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID relief funds
A jury in the Northern District of Texas found Hockridge guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was acquitted on four additional counts of wire fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 10.
Hockridge's conviction was announced on Friday.
According to federal prosecutors and investigative reports, Hockridge and her husband, Nathan Reis, fraudulently obtained over $300,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for themselves, including one application that falsely claimed he was a veteran and an African American.
The couple's Scottsdale-based fintech firm, Blueacorn, which they co-founded in 2020, processed over $12.5 billion in PPP loans — with somewhere between $250 million and $300 million going to the company's ownership, including Hockridge.
Blueacorn received over $1 billion in taxpayer-funded processing fees for facilitating PPP loans but spent less than 1% ($8.6 million) on fraud prevention and only $13.7 million on eligibility verification, according to a congressional investigation.
The PPP was an $800 billion federal loan initiative launched in 2020 to help small businesses keep workers employed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was part of a broader effort — including grants, tax credits and emergency loans — aimed at stabilizing the US economy and preventing mass business closures and layoffs.
Investigators alleged that the couple used the proceeds to enrich themselves personally.
Congress said it obtained a video created by Reis and Hockridge showing off large amounts of cash in a bar on Dec. 21, 2021. According to public records, Reis relocated to San Juan, Puerto Rico, which has no capital gains tax, following his work at Blueacorn.
An Oct. 8, 2021, video obtained by congressional staffers which was geolocated to San Juan showed Hockridge and Reis on the balcony of a luxury beachfront apartment.
According to a congressional report, Blueacorn routinely failed to properly vet applicants and charged illegal 'success fees' to borrowers — violating Small Business Administration rules.
The congressional report detailed how Blueacorn's leadership instructed staff to prioritize speed over accuracy.
Internal messages showed reviewers were told to 'push through' questionable applications, ignore red flags, and skip identity checks unless fraud was 'extremely obvious.' Some staff processed hundreds of loans with no training — sometimes within 30 seconds each.
The subcommittee also uncovered the existence of a 'VIPPP' program that allowed high-dollar clients to bypass standard review protocols. Founders dismissed smaller loan applicants with phrases like 'delete them,' 'who f–king cares' and 'they go elsewhere.'
Hockridge, 42, was once a familiar face in Arizona households. She spent seven years as an anchor at KNXV-TV, the ABC affiliate in Phoenix, and had previously worked as a reporter for CBS News Radio in London.
She was nominated for an Emmy and named 'Favorite Newscaster' by Arizona Foothills Magazine.
Reis is scheduled to stand trial in August 2025 on related charges. Prosecutors allege he played a lead role in directing the company's operations and handling its financial distributions.
Hockridge's conviction marks one of the highest-profile PPP fraud cases to date involving a public figure.
Fraud related to COVID-19 relief programs was unprecedented in US history, with losses estimated in the hundreds of billions — possibly up to $1 trillion.
The PPP, Economic Injury Disaster Loans and unemployment insurance programs were especially vulnerable — with watchdogs reporting widespread misuse, insider abuse and systemic failures in fraud prevention.
The Post has sought comment from Hockridge and Reis.
Originally published as Ex-TV news anchor Stephanie Hockridge convicted in massive scheme to fraudulently obtain Covid relief funds
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Man of Many
2 hours ago
- Man of Many
Meet the Australian Fragrance Brands Shaping a New Olfactory Landscape
Australia's love affair with fragrance is only just beginning. Over the past decade, the beguiling sector has undergone a quiet transformation, sweeping from a hive of mass-market imports and celebrity-endorsed perfumes to a true boutique industry. And at its heart lies a desire for originality in storytelling. If you ask the perfumers and fragrance experts leading the future of scent, a change is in the air. A shifting fashion climate and the rise of home-grown individualism have given way to a new form of contemporary luxury, one that isn't as concerned with pomp as it is with provenance. As Craig Andrade, founder of craft label The Raconteur, explains, fragrance, as a category, is fast-moving from status symbol to personal expression. 'When you have a great sense of scent in your wardrobe, it becomes this beautiful, invisible communication that says so much and yet, only those who are close to you can understand what it is you're trying to say,' Andrade says. 'It is the most subtle form of self-expression; the most exquisite form of communication a man can use to say who he is.' Adrade is one of the many boutique Australian producers helping to chart a new frontier in fragrance. The former law firm partner turned perfumer launched his business in 2019 after identifying a gap in the market for premium, artisanal scents that offered something different from the industry norm. When COVID hit just one year later, his gamble paid off. 'That moment accelerated and accentuated this heightened awareness around scent,' he tells me. 'It also brought this sort of category of wellbeing, where scent could play a role in small touches to elevate your space, to the forefront. When you're working from home, simply applying a room scent was a small ritual of self-care and something you could do at home.' 'There was a huge surge in demand; you started to see this audience that had a greater awareness and a greater level of sophistication when purchasing online. For men and for women, there was just a bigger appetite for getting into this space, and that was the tectonic shift in our industry globally, and certainly in Australia.'
West Australian
5 hours ago
- West Australian
Trial for Outback Wrangler Matt Wright hears explosive claims
A Netflix reality star 'idolised' by his staff was an 'anti-vaxxer' who broke Covid-19 laws and was allegedly secretly recorded talking about tinkering with flight records while visiting a chopper crash survivor left paraplegic in hospital, a jury has heard. The extraordinary claims about Outback Wrangler Matt Wright were made this week during his trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court, where he is charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The 45-year-old celebrity is accused of failing to accurately record flight times in the Robinson-R-44 that crashed in February 2022, killing his co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson. It is not alleged Mr Wright is responsible for the crash. Mr Wilson, 34, was dangling from a sling attached to the helicopter during a dangerous crocodile egg collecting mission when the chopper crashed in Arnhem Land. CHOPPER RECORDS ALLEGEDLY FUDGED Pilot Seb Robinson, who survived the crash but is now a paraplegic, testified his former boss was an 'anti-vaxxer' despite Mr Wright going to two Covid restricted areas – the remote helicopter crash site and the injured pilot's Brisbane hospital room. He told the jury the main reason Mr Wright was not on the egg mission was 'because he was an anti-vaxxer'. At the time, there were strict Covid rules for anyone entering remote areas in the Territory, where they needed to provide proof of vaccination and take a rapid antigen test. The jury previously heard Mr Wright flew to the crash site with Wild Harvest NT director Mick Burns and off-duty senior NT Police officer Neil Mellon. Following the crash, Mr Robinson spent one month in hospital, where Covid restrictions meant two people could visit and everyone needed to provide a valid vaccination certificate. Mr Robinson said he had just come out of a coma, was heavily sedated and 'hallucinating' but 'vaguely' remembered a visit from Mr Wright and his wife Kaia on March 11. 'I have a vivid memory of him having some sort of paperwork in his hands,' Mr Robinson said. He alleged his boss wanted to move 'a few' hours from the crashed helicopter – with the call sign IDW – to Mr Robinson's personal chopper, with the call sign ZXZ. Mr Robinson, 28, also alleged Mr Wright 'asked to go through my phone and delete a few things'. 'I remember looking over and seeing him holding my phone and flicking through it and deleting things,' Mr Robinson said. The jury heard the former pilot also deleted 'some stuff', including phone notes for start and stop times for IDW during egg collection trips. 'It was a very hard time for me. I didn't know who to trust and I panicked and went along with it,' he said. Mr Robinson alleged on Mr Wright's second hospital visit he brought Jai Thomlinson to again discuss the transfer of hours from IDW to ZXZ. 'I just remember having concerns about what was happening,' Mr Robinson said. 'I said I didn't feel comfortable doing it,' he said. 'I don't think (Mr Wright) was upset … he sort of said: 'That's OK.'' A secret mobile audio recording of this hospital visit allegedly captured Mr Wright talking about IDW flight times over the phone. Mr Robinson admitted he initially repeatedly lied to investigators because he 'panicked' and was worried about losing his pilot's licence. PILOT'S COCAINE PARTYING Mr Robinson admitted he used cocaine 'a couple times a year' – up to 10 times over 12 months – but he denied he was a 'raging cocaine junkie'. The former pilot said he had never flown a helicopter while intoxicated, either by drugs or alcohol. He admitted he sometimes supplied cocaine for his mates and footy players, as well as flying small amounts of booze into Aboriginal communities. But Mr Robinson denied being a 'drug dealer' while being questioned about a series of texts about his wild partying. Mr Wright's defence counsel David Edwardson accused Mr Robinson of 'sourcing and supplying' cocaine from 2018 to the time of the crash. Mr Edwardson read messages from the pilot's friends asking 'are you getting more coke?', 'Seb any chance you know where to get the good stuff?' and 'anyone got bags?'. In one message exchange, Mr Robinson told a friend he was 'crook as a dog', with his mate replying 'snorting too much coke out of Matty's arse?'. Mr Robinson said the friend knew Mr Wright. But the lawyer has said the reality star had a 'zero tolerance' approach to drugs. Under cross-examination, Mr Robinson was also grilled about a message sent to a mate in November 2019, saying there were 'footy players in town wanting bags' and other texts referring to 'zingers' and 'pills'. 'Are you implying I'm a drug dealer? … No,' Mr Robinson said. While Mr Robinson did not believe he was a trafficker, Justice Alan Blow explained: 'It is trafficking, even if you're not making any money for yourself.' Trace amounts of cocaine were detected in Mr Robinson's blood, which prosecutor Jason Gullaci said experts were likely to say was from use days before the crash. Mr Robinson admitted to flying in booze to remote communities, but said he did not sell the alcohol. He said 'on occasion' he would take a small amount of alcohol under the seat of his chopper for people in Arnhem Land. PILOT'S INJURIES Mr Robinson said his last memory from that fateful day was 'having a laugh' with his mate in the chopper. The jury was shown a photo of Mr Wilson piloting the Robinson R-44, with the image appearing to capture the fuel gauge between three-quarters and completely full mark. Mr Robinson said at that level, the helicopter should have been able to travel from Noonamah to King River and back. He became emotional as he shared his next memory – waking up in hospital, then being told his friend was dead and he would likely never walk again. Mr Robinson's spinal cord was completely severed, he had 12 broken ribs and puncturing in his lungs. His neck, elbow and both ankles were also fractured. He said he struggled with his memory due to a traumatic brain injury. NETFLIX STAR AN 'IDOL' Fellow helicopter pilot Jock Purcell told the jury he took official aviation records from Mr Robinson's home two days after the crash but could not recall who asked him to do it. He said he did not show the logbook to anyone or take photos of the official records, but was later asked by Mr Robinson to return the records. 'I took it home, and then Seb's brothers come and got it from my house,' Mr Purcell said. However, in a tapped telephone conversation between Mr Purcell and Mr Wright five months after the crash, the pair allegedly discussed Mr Robinson talking to investigators, the crashed chopper's maintenance release and Hobbs Meter, which records flight hours. 'Something had gone on with the Hobbs there, I dunno, they've moved it forward or some f***ing thing as well,' Mr Wright said. 'I'm just trying to think how much Sebby's, or what Sebby's tried to say to them, if anything even.' The pair then said some of that information could have been gathered from the maintenance release, which pilots fill out to record flight hours and service histories of helicopters. Three years after the bugged call, Mr Purcell told the court he was unsure if it was related to the crash investigation. Mr Purcell, who arrived at the crash scene, initially said he did not remember anyone approaching but then said the only thing removed were a few headsets. However, under cross examination, Mr Purcell said: 'I know someone lifted the dash of the helicopter.' Mr Purcell said he checked to see why the chopper might have gone down, and happened to notice the Hobbs Meter was connected. But Mr Gullaci alleged the sole purpose for Mr Purcell to look under the dash was to inspect this device 'because you knew there was a practice among Matt Wright's helicopters of the Hobbs Meter being disconnected'. 'And you wanted to see whether it was connected or not, for when investigators turned up to look at the crashed helicopter?' Mr Gullaci asked. Mr Purcell said he did not believe that was the case. When asked what else he could have been inspecting, the experienced pilot said: 'I'm not an investigator so I don't know.' However, Mr Purcell had already conceded there was a pattern of not recording flight hours, and had previously seen both Mr Wright and Mr Robinson disconnect the Hobbs Meter. He said there were times when the flight hour recorder was disconnected because 'it was getting close to service'. Mr Robinson also made full admissions to the jury of his own dodgy record keeping practices, which he said were common across the Territory helicopter industry. After almost a decade in the industry, Mr Robinson alleged he had worked for two other businesses which had similarly failed to properly record flight hours. Mr Robinson agreed he continued to 'break the rules' while working at Mr Wright's company. '(Mr Wright) would say 'pop the clock for this trip',' Mr Robinson alleged. He also said Mr Wright 'controlled all aspects of his aircraft regarding maintenance scheduling'. Mr Robinson said employees 'absolutely' followed Mr Wright's directions. 'We were young men, we looked up to him,' he said. 'Everyone looked at Matt as an idol. He'd say 'jump' and they'd say 'how high?' 'He had an aura about him. 'Everyone wanted to be around him, work for him, everyone bent over backwards to try and be a part of what he was doing.' The trial continues.
Perth Now
5 hours ago
- Perth Now
Wild claims about ‘idolised' Netflix star
A Netflix reality star 'idolised' by his staff was an 'anti-vaxxer' who broke Covid-19 laws and was allegedly secretly recorded talking about tinkering with flight records while visiting a chopper crash survivor left paraplegic in hospital, a jury has heard. The extraordinary claims about Outback Wrangler Matt Wright were made this week during his trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court, where he is charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The 45-year-old celebrity is accused of failing to accurately record flight times in the Robinson-R-44 that crashed in February 2022, killing his co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson. It is not alleged Mr Wright is responsible for the crash. Mr Wilson, 34, was dangling from a sling attached to the helicopter during a dangerous crocodile egg collecting mission when the chopper crashed in Arnhem Land. Outback Wrangler Matt Wright is accused of fudging the chopper log books. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire CHOPPER RECORDS ALLEGEDLY FUDGED Pilot Seb Robinson, who survived the crash but is now a paraplegic, testified his former boss was an 'anti-vaxxer' despite Mr Wright going to two Covid restricted areas – the remote helicopter crash site and the injured pilot's Brisbane hospital room. He told the jury the main reason Mr Wright was not on the egg mission was 'because he was an anti-vaxxer'. At the time, there were strict Covid rules for anyone entering remote areas in the Territory, where they needed to provide proof of vaccination and take a rapid antigen test. The jury previously heard Mr Wright flew to the crash site with Wild Harvest NT director Mick Burns and off-duty senior NT Police officer Neil Mellon. Following the crash, Mr Robinson spent one month in hospital, where Covid restrictions meant two people could visit and everyone needed to provide a valid vaccination certificate. Mr Robinson said he had just come out of a coma, was heavily sedated and 'hallucinating' but 'vaguely' remembered a visit from Mr Wright and his wife Kaia on March 11. 'I have a vivid memory of him having some sort of paperwork in his hands,' Mr Robinson said. Seb Robinson is now a paraplegic. Instagram Credit: News Corp Australia He alleged his boss wanted to move 'a few' hours from the crashed helicopter – with the call sign IDW – to Mr Robinson's personal chopper, with the call sign ZXZ. Mr Robinson, 28, also alleged Mr Wright 'asked to go through my phone and delete a few things'. 'I remember looking over and seeing him holding my phone and flicking through it and deleting things,' Mr Robinson said. The jury heard the former pilot also deleted 'some stuff', including phone notes for start and stop times for IDW during egg collection trips. 'It was a very hard time for me. I didn't know who to trust and I panicked and went along with it,' he said. Mr Robinson alleged on Mr Wright's second hospital visit he brought Jai Thomlinson to again discuss the transfer of hours from IDW to ZXZ. 'I just remember having concerns about what was happening,' Mr Robinson said. 'I said I didn't feel comfortable doing it,' he said. 'I don't think (Mr Wright) was upset … he sort of said: 'That's OK.'' A secret mobile audio recording of this hospital visit allegedly captured Mr Wright talking about IDW flight times over the phone. Mr Robinson admitted he initially repeatedly lied to investigators because he 'panicked' and was worried about losing his pilot's licence. Chris Wilson's widow, Dani Wilson, has been attending the trial. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire PILOT'S COCAINE PARTYING Mr Robinson admitted he used cocaine 'a couple times a year' – up to 10 times over 12 months – but he denied he was a 'raging cocaine junkie'. The former pilot said he had never flown a helicopter while intoxicated, either by drugs or alcohol. He admitted he sometimes supplied cocaine for his mates and footy players, as well as flying small amounts of booze into Aboriginal communities. But Mr Robinson denied being a 'drug dealer' while being questioned about a series of texts about his wild partying. Mr Wright's defence counsel David Edwardson accused Mr Robinson of 'sourcing and supplying' cocaine from 2018 to the time of the crash. Mr Edwardson read messages from the pilot's friends asking 'are you getting more coke?', 'Seb any chance you know where to get the good stuff?' and 'anyone got bags?'. In one message exchange, Mr Robinson told a friend he was 'crook as a dog', with his mate replying 'snorting too much coke out of Matty's arse?'. Mr Robinson said the friend knew Mr Wright. But the lawyer has said the reality star had a 'zero tolerance' approach to drugs. Under cross-examination, Mr Robinson was also grilled about a message sent to a mate in November 2019, saying there were 'footy players in town wanting bags' and other texts referring to 'zingers' and 'pills'. 'Are you implying I'm a drug dealer? … No,' Mr Robinson said. Crown Prosecutor Jason Gullaci outside court. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire While Mr Robinson did not believe he was a trafficker, Justice Alan Blow explained: 'It is trafficking, even if you're not making any money for yourself.' Trace amounts of cocaine were detected in Mr Robinson's blood, which prosecutor Jason Gullaci said experts were likely to say was from use days before the crash. Mr Robinson admitted to flying in booze to remote communities, but said he did not sell the alcohol. He said 'on occasion' he would take a small amount of alcohol under the seat of his chopper for people in Arnhem Land. PILOT'S INJURIES Mr Robinson said his last memory from that fateful day was 'having a laugh' with his mate in the chopper. The jury was shown a photo of Mr Wilson piloting the Robinson R-44, with the image appearing to capture the fuel gauge between three-quarters and completely full mark. Mr Robinson said at that level, the helicopter should have been able to travel from Noonamah to King River and back. He became emotional as he shared his next memory – waking up in hospital, then being told his friend was dead and he would likely never walk again. Mr Robinson's spinal cord was completely severed, he had 12 broken ribs and puncturing in his lungs. His neck, elbow and both ankles were also fractured. He said he struggled with his memory due to a traumatic brain injury. Mr Wright has pleaded not guilty to the charges. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire NETFLIX STAR AN 'IDOL' Fellow helicopter pilot Jock Purcell told the jury he took official aviation records from Mr Robinson's home two days after the crash but could not recall who asked him to do it. He said he did not show the logbook to anyone or take photos of the official records, but was later asked by Mr Robinson to return the records. 'I took it home, and then Seb's brothers come and got it from my house,' Mr Purcell said. However, in a tapped telephone conversation between Mr Purcell and Mr Wright five months after the crash, the pair allegedly discussed Mr Robinson talking to investigators, the crashed chopper's maintenance release and Hobbs Meter, which records flight hours. 'Something had gone on with the Hobbs there, I dunno, they've moved it forward or some f***ing thing as well,' Mr Wright said. 'I'm just trying to think how much Sebby's, or what Sebby's tried to say to them, if anything even.' The pair then said some of that information could have been gathered from the maintenance release, which pilots fill out to record flight hours and service histories of helicopters. Three years after the bugged call, Mr Purcell told the court he was unsure if it was related to the crash investigation. Mr Purcell, who arrived at the crash scene, initially said he did not remember anyone approaching but then said the only thing removed were a few headsets. However, under cross examination, Mr Purcell said: 'I know someone lifted the dash of the helicopter.' Outback Wrangler Matt Wright has been supported in court by his wife Kaia. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire Mr Purcell said he checked to see why the chopper might have gone down, and happened to notice the Hobbs Meter was connected. But Mr Gullaci alleged the sole purpose for Mr Purcell to look under the dash was to inspect this device 'because you knew there was a practice among Matt Wright's helicopters of the Hobbs Meter being disconnected'. 'And you wanted to see whether it was connected or not, for when investigators turned up to look at the crashed helicopter?' Mr Gullaci asked. Mr Purcell said he did not believe that was the case. When asked what else he could have been inspecting, the experienced pilot said: 'I'm not an investigator so I don't know.' However, Mr Purcell had already conceded there was a pattern of not recording flight hours, and had previously seen both Mr Wright and Mr Robinson disconnect the Hobbs Meter. Helicopter pilot Jock Purcell worked for Outback Wrangler Matt Wright. Credit: News Corp Australia He said there were times when the flight hour recorder was disconnected because 'it was getting close to service'. Mr Robinson also made full admissions to the jury of his own dodgy record keeping practices, which he said were common across the Territory helicopter industry. After almost a decade in the industry, Mr Robinson alleged he had worked for two other businesses which had similarly failed to properly record flight hours. Mr Robinson agreed he continued to 'break the rules' while working at Mr Wright's company. '(Mr Wright) would say 'pop the clock for this trip',' Mr Robinson alleged. He also said Mr Wright 'controlled all aspects of his aircraft regarding maintenance scheduling'. Mr Robinson said employees 'absolutely' followed Mr Wright's directions. 'We were young men, we looked up to him,' he said. 'Everyone looked at Matt as an idol. He'd say 'jump' and they'd say 'how high?' 'He had an aura about him. 'Everyone wanted to be around him, work for him, everyone bent over backwards to try and be a part of what he was doing.' The trial continues.
