One former ABC affiliate TV anchor has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars at the same Texas-based prison where infamous sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell served time
Former TV news anchor Stephanie Hockridge has been sentenced to the same Texas prison as infamous sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell after being found guilty of fraud.
Stephanie, who previously worked as an anchor in Phoenix, Arizona, has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars after being found guilty of participating in a fraudulent $63M COVID-19 relief scheme with her husband Nathan Reis. Before partaking in this illegal scheme, Stephanie worked for the ABC affiliate station KNXV-TV for seven years.
The Emmy-nominated host will be carrying out her time in the same jail that Ghislaine went to after she was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offenses in connection with Jeffrey Epstein. This facility is the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, which has been dubbed as “America’s cushiest prison.”
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The 42-year-old’s sentence comes after a jury previously convicted her in June for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In addition to her 10-year-long prison sentence, Stephanie was also ordered to pay $63 million in restitution.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Stephanie was convicted “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.”
Stephanie was the co-founder of Blueacorn, which was a lender service provider that was advertised to help small businesses and individuals secure PPP loans during the pandemic.
Highlighting her crimes, the DOJ wrote, “Hockridge and her co-conspirators fabricated documents, including payroll records, tax documentation and bank statements. Hockridge and her co-conspirators charged borrowers kickbacks based on a percentage of the funds received.”
Detailing how Stephanie managed carried out these crimes, the DOJ added, “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.”
The press release went on to explain that Stephanie “submitted PPP loan applications that they knew contained materially false information” in order to get more payments from borrowers and a higher percentage of lender fees.
After the scheme was uncovered, Stephanie told The celebrity.land that her actions were a “sincere effort to support small businesses.” And that she created the service in order to help businesses navigate a chaotic government problem during an era of “unprecedented need.”
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