(FreePressBeacon.com) – In the seeming unraveling of one of the many financial abuses of pandemic taxpayer money, former Arizona news anchor Stephanie Hockridge-Reis and her partner Nathan Reis are facing serious legal battles after being indicted for their role in a COVID relief fraud scheme.
See photos of Stephanie Hockridge-Reis and her partner Nathan Reis in the tweets below!
The couple is accused of exploiting the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), paving the way for false applications and pocketing enormous sums.
With charges piled up against them, they’re looking at potentially spending a century behind bars.
Hockridge-Reis, celebrated for her seven-year tenure at ABC affiliate Channel 15 (KNXV-TV), transitioned out of journalism in 2018.
Not long after, she and Nathan Reis founded Blueacorn in 2020, a company designed to help others secure COVID-19 relief funds.
Now, the same venture is the flashpoint of their legal woes, sparking allegations of deceitful practices, Fox10 Phoenix reports.
The indictment reveals appalling tactics employed by the couple.
They allegedly submitted PPP loan applications full of fictitious details to improperly obtain government funds.
The Department of Justice remarked, Hockridge-Reis and Reis “submitted PPP loan applications that they knew contained materially false information.”
The charges they face are grave.
Each carries a 20-year sentence, summing to possible 100 years in prison.
Indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud, they bear the weight of the justice system’s hammer.
Embedded within their fraudulent scheming, accusations of submitting doctored payroll records, tax documentation, and bank statements stand at the forefront.
“Reis and Hockridge are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count,” writes The Arizona Daily Independent.
Their operation went further, allegedly charging illegal fees calculated from obtained funds.
Compounded with allegedly recruiting agents to help clients submit deceitful forms, they portrayed a company meticulously designed to misappropriate vital relief funds.
In a brazen move, Nathan Reis allegedly misidentifies himself as African American and a veteran within their applications, indicating a total disregard for integrity.
Having relocated from Arizona to Puerto Rico in 2021, the fallout of their scheme seems universally resonant, with federal courts unsealing the indictment in the Northern District of Texas.
Hockridge-Reis is scheduled for a court appearance in Dallas on November 25, leaving the outcome in the hands of the judicial process.
This case underscores broader concerns about the misuse of pandemic relief programs.
Stephanie Hockridge, a former anchor at ABC 15 in Phoenix, and her husband Nathan Reis, are accused of submitting false and fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. https://t.co/AZujGUcFBH
— FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) November 25, 2024
A former Phoenix news anchor living a large, luxurious lifestyle in Puerto Rico indicted in multi-million dollar COVID fraud scheme. Story by Olivia Rose.via @azcentral https://t.co/7P6Mo95GDk
— Robert Anglen (@robertanglen) November 23, 2024
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