FORT WORTH, TX — One of the founders of Blueacorn, a paycheck protection program loan processing company during the pandemic, has been sentenced after pleading guilty to a fraud charge earlier this year.
On Thursday, a judge ruled that Nathan Reis be sentenced to 10 years in prison. The court ordered Reis to surrender for his prison sentence on January 20, 2026.
Earlier this year, Reis, the husband of former ABC15 news anchor Stephanie Hockridge, accepted a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In June, Hockridge was convicted on the same charge by a jury in Fort Worth, TX. Hockridge was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
See previous ABC15 coverage of the trial in the player above.
Prosecutors argued that Reis, Hockridge, and Blueacorn co-conspirators altered financial documents to illegally obtain federal PPP loans for themselves and others who were not qualified to receive them.
In 2022, a congressional subcommittee found Blueacorn received nearly $1 billion in taxpayer-funded fees. The company transferred $300 million to its owners, according to the subcommittee's report.
The judge ordered Reis to pay $2.5 million in restitution in the next two weeks and nearly $64 million in additional restitution in conjunction with co-conspirators Hockridge and Jimmy Flores.
“In a critical time for our nation, when businesses were trying to survive a worldwide pandemic, this defendant [Reis] egregiously lined his own pockets via his massive fraud scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas.
Hockridge has filed a notice with the court of her intent to appeal her conviction and sentence.
She is currently out of custody with an ankle monitor. She has also requested that the court give her a staggered prison sentence from her husband so they can care for their one-year-old son.
Unless the judge grants her relief, Hockridge is required to self-report to prison on December 30.
