A convicted news anchor is in major legal trouble. A judge ordered her to pay $63 million in restitution and also to spend a decade behind bars.
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A court found that the former ABC anchor was guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. This comes after authorities indicted both Stephanie Hockridge and her husband last year. They accused them of defrauding the government’s COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program.
Both pleaded not guilty initially. Prior to the crime, Hockridge worked as a news anchor in Phoenix for several years.
The Department of Justice wrote, “A co-founder of a lender service provider was sentenced to 10 years in prison for participating 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. The defendant was also ordered to pay over $63 million in restitution.”
News Anchor Found Guilty
According to the Justice Department, the indictment said that the two “submitted false and fraudulent PPP loan applications on behalf of themselves and their businesses, including by fabricating documents that they submitted in their loan applications in order to receive loan funds for which they were not eligible.”
They also started a business Blueacorn, for which they accepted illegal kickbacks.
The statement continued, “As part of the scheme, Hockridge and others offered a personalized service to their clients called ‘VIPPP’ to help potential borrowers complete PPP loan applications. Hockridge recruited co-conspirators to work as VIPPP referral agents and coach borrowers on how to submit false PPP loan applications. To get more kickbacks from borrowers and a higher percentage of lender fees from the SBA, Hockridge and her co-conspirators submitted PPP loan applications that they knew contained materially false information. In total, Hockridge and her coconspirators processed over $63 million in fraudulent PPP loans.”
Hockridge was found guilty last Friday. Her husband is being tried separately. As a result of the guilty verdict, the former news anchor will serve a decade in prison for her crimes.