In a significant legal proceeding, Stephanie Hockridge, co-founder of the lending service provider Blueacorn, was found guilty last Friday of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme aimed at pilfering funds from the COVID-19 relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a lifesaver for small businesses hit hard by the pandemic. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the jury convicted Hockridge after evidence presented at trial showed that she conspired with others to submit false and fraudulent PPP loan applications, including by creating bogus income and payroll documentation.
Locked behind the twisted hallways of deception, Hockridge, aged 42, capitalized on the nation's dire situation for her enrichment by abusing a program that was designed to buoy vulnerable individuals and struggling businesses. "This defendant exploited a national emergency to personally profit from a taxpayer-funded program intended to support vulnerable individuals and small businesses," Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, stated, per the U.S. Department of Justice. Officials praised the verdict as a triumph of justice, emphasizing that Hockridge's opportunistic maneuvers cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars and compromised the integrity of government assistance efforts.
The Justice Department's announcement painted a picture of a calculated operation where Hockridge and her co-conspirators charged kickbacks and fabricated documents to secure larger loans for PPP applicants. The VIPPP service, offered by Blueacorn, was meant to help clients with loan applications but was perverted into a tool for securing fraudulent funds through coached applications laced with misinformation.
Hockridge is awaiting her sentencing, scheduled for October 10, facing a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. With over 200 defendants prosecuted in connection with fraud exploiting the PPP, the crackdown on fraud remains relentless, with agencies seizing substantial illegal proceeds and reasserting the rule of law. Tips on suspected COVID-19 fraud can be reported to the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline. The hard work of prosecutors from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, together with the Assistant U. S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, was acknowledged in bringing Hockridge's case to a close.
