Dallas PPP Loan Fraud Lawyers

You think the person who committed PPP fraud is the person most at risk. They submitted the application. They received the money. They spent it on things they shouldnt have. If anyone goes to prison, its them.

That's not how Dallas works.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to tell you what other websites won't: in the Northern District of Texas, the person who ENABLES PPP fraud faces harsher punishment then the people who commit it. Stephanie Hockridge didnt apply for PPP loans herself. She co-founded Blueacorn, a service that helped others apply. She coached applicants through fraudulent applications with a premium service called "VIPPP." She got 10 years in federal prison and $63 million in restitution - more then most of the people she helped.

If you prepared applications for others, if you taught people how to apply, if you built a system that made fraud easier - Dallas prosecutors will come for you harder then they come for the people you helped.

When Helping Becomes the Crime

Most people think PPP fraud is about the applicant. They submitted false information. They received money fraudulently. They're the criminal.

That's not how federal prosecutors in Dallas see it.

In the Northern District of Texas, prosecutors treat PPP fraud as a systemic problem. They're not just looking for people who committed fraud - they're looking for people who made fraud POSSIBLE. The accountants who prepaired false applications. The consultants who coached applicants on what to say. The service providers who basicaly created systems to process fraudulent applications at scale.

Here's how this works in practice. You helped a friend apply for PPP. You filled out the paperwork. You knew some of the information wasnt accurate, but you figured it was their application, their responsibility. Wrong. Under federal conspiracy law, you became a participant in their fraud the moment you helped. And if you helped multiple people? You're not a helper anymore. You're an organizer.

The Northern District of Texas has demonstrated that facilitators face the harshest sentences. Stephanie Hockridge got 10 years for running Blueacorn. Tamara Starks got 86 months for organizing a scheme involving over 100 applications. The individual applicants in these schemes often got 3-5 years. The people who made the fraud EASY got 7-10 years.

If you helped others apply for PPP loans, you're the primary target - not them. Dallas prosecutors understand that individual fraudsters can only steal so much. But facilitators multiply fraud across dozens or hundreds of applications. The bigger your role in making fraud possible, the longer your sentence.

The Blueacorn Trap: 10 Years for Making Fraud Easy

Let me show you exactly how helping becomes 10 years in federal prison.

Stephanie Hockridge co-founded Blueacorn in April 2020. The company claimed to help small businesses and individuals obtain PPP loans during the pandemic. Sounds legitmate. Lots of companies offered similar services. What made Blueacorn differant was a premium offering called "VIPPP."

OK so what was VIPPP? It was a personalized service for applicants who wanted extra help. But the "help" wasnt legitimate assistance with paperwork. According to court documents, Hockridge and her co-conspirators used VIPPP to coach borrowers on how to submit FALSE PPP applications. They fabricated documents - payroll records, tax documentation, bank statements - to help applicants get loans they werent eligible for.

Hockridge recruited co-conspirators to work as VIPPP referral agents. These agents coached applicants on how to lie effectivly. They taught people what numbers to put on applications. They created fake supporting documents. The whole system was basicly designed to process fraudulent applications at scale.

The result? Blueacorn facilitated over $63 million in fraudulent PPP loans. Hockridge didnt receive that money herself - the applicants did. But Hockridge built the system that made it possible.

Here's the part that should terrify you. A federal jury found Hockridge guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was convicted not for submitting fraudulent applications, but for helping others submit them. On November 21, 2025, she was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Plus $63 million in restitution.

Her husband Nathan Reis, who co-founded Blueacorn with her, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Hes awaiting sentencing.

Think about what this means. Hockridge was a former TV news anchor. She worked at KNXV in Phoenix. She wasnt a career criminal. She saw an opportunity during the pandemic to help people get loans - and to make money doing it. The helping crossed into coaching fraud. The coaching crossed into fabricating documents. The fabricating crossed into 10 years in federal prison.

Here's something practitioners understand that the public dosent. Under conspiracy law, you dont have to personally commit the underlying crime. You just have to agree to help others commit it. Every fraudulent application Blueacorn processed became evidence of Hockridge's conspiracy. Every fake document her team created became a count against her. Every applicant they helped became a potential cooperating witness.

The investigation into Blueacorn involved multiple federal agencies working together. The FBI led the investigation. IRS Criminal Investigation traced the money flows. The Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery analyzed the scope of the scheme. The Federal Reserve Board-CFPB Office of Inspector General and SBA OIG contributed investigative resources. When that many agencies are investigating your company, they will find everything.

Hockridge went to trial and lost. A jury found her guilty on conspiracy to commit wire fraud after hearing the evidence. The applicants she helped? Many of them cooperated against her. The referral agents she recruited? Several became government witnesses. The system she built to enable fraud became the evidence that convicted her.

How Volume Multiplies Your Sentence

In Dallas, the number of applications you're connected to determines your sentence more then the dollar amount.

Look at the pattern:

Dinesh Sah submitted 15 fraudulent applications to 8 different lenders. He received $17 million. He bought 8 homes, 6 luxury vehicles including a Bentley convertible, Corvette Stingray, and Porsche Macan. He sent millions in international wire transfers. His sentence: 135 months - over 11 years.

Tamara Starks organized a scheme involving more then 100 PPP applications totaling $8.5 million. She didnt submit all those applications herself - she helped organize others to submit them. Her sentence: 86 months - over 7 years.

Shantelle Hawkins submitted 17 fraudulent applications. Her sentence: 41 months.

See the math? Sah's 15 applications got him 135 months. Hawkins's 17 applications got her 41 months. The difference? Sah received more money AND went to trial. Hawkins pleaded guilty and cooperated.

But notice something else. Starks organized 100+ applications and got 86 months - LESS then Sah who submitted 15 applications. Why? Because Starks pleaded guilty in September 2024 and accepted responsibility. Sah apparently fought the charges.

The volume multiplication works like this. Each application can potentialy be charged as a separate count of wire fraud. Each count carries up to 20 years. If you submitted 15 applications, prosecutors could theoreticaly charge you with 15 counts. Even with concurrent sentencing, the sheer volume of counts drives up the guideline calculation.

Every application you helped prepare is a seperate federal crime you committed. If you helped 5 people apply, you committed 5 federal crimes. If you helped 50 people apply, you committed 50 federal crimes. The math is brutal and unavoidable.

What Dallas Sentences Actually Look Like

Let me show you whats actualy happening in the Northern District of Texas right now. Not guidelines. Not hypotheticals. Real sentences from real cases.

Stephanie Hockridge - Blueacorn co-founder. Facilitated $63 million in fraudulent PPP loans through her company. Coached applicants on how to submit false applications. Fabricated supporting documents. Sentence: 10 years (120 months). Restitution: $63 million. Former TV news anchor.

Dinesh Sah - Coppell businessman. $24.8 million in fraudulent applications, received $17 million. 15 applications to 8 different lenders. Bought 8 homes, Bentley, Corvette, Porsche. International wire transfers. Sentence: 135 months (11+ years). Restitution: $17.3 million. Forfeited homes, vehicles, $9 million seized.

Tamara Starks - Mansfield organizer. Over 100 PPP applications totaling $8.5 million. Organized scheme with others. Sentence: 86 months (7+ years). Restitution: $4,476,523.73.

Shantelle Hawkins - DeSoto. 17 fraudulent applications. Pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Sentence: 41 months. Restitution: $1.8 million. Property forfeited.

Jackson Family - Seven Dallas-area family members all pleaded guilty. Each claimed to be a sole proprietor with $8,000 monthly payroll. Submitted fake tax documents. Awaiting sentencing - each facing up to 5 years.

The Jackson family case demonstrates how Dallas handles coordinated fraud. Seven family members submitted PPP applications claiming each was a sole proprietor with aproximately $8,000 in monthly payroll. The applications included purported tax documents that provided false details about these supposed sole proprietorships. None of the businesses actualy existed. None of the payroll was real. The entire scheme was fabricated.

What makes this case instructive is that prosecutors charged ALL seven family members. They didnt just go after the person who organized the scheme. They didn't give passes to family members who "just went along." Everyone who participated faces federal prison time. The message is clear: participating in a coordinated fraud scheme means everyone gets charged, regardless of family relationships.

Here's the pattern you should notice. The facilitators get hammered. Hockridge enabled $63 million in fraud and got 10 years. Starks organized 100+ applications and got 86 months. The individual applicants in family schemes are looking at 3-5 years each.

And the restitution is permanant. Hockridge owes $63 million that she cant discharge in bankruptcy. Sah owes $17.3 million. These aren't theoretical numbers - these are amounts that follow defendants for the rest of their lives. Wages garnished. Tax refunds intercepted. Assets seized. The sentence dosent end when prison ends.

The forfeiture is equally devastating. Sah lost 8 homes and 6 luxury vehicles. Everything he bought with fraud proceeds became government property. The lifestyle PPP fraud funded becomes the evidence that justifies the forfeiture that takes it all away.

Prosecutors in the Northern District of Texas have shown they will pursue every avenue of punishment. Prison time. Massive restitution orders. Forfeiture of assets. The goal isn't just punishment - it's to make an example that deters others. When Hockridge's 10-year sentence was announced, it sent a message to every facilitator still operating. When Sah's luxury vehicles were seized, it showed that the government will take back everything fraud purchased. The combination of prison, restitution, and forfeiture ensures that PPP fraud destroys not just your freedom, but your financial future.

The Conspiracy Enhancement

Here's were most facilitators make the mistake that costs them a decade.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 371, conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States is itself a federal crime. But here's what makes conspiracy especialy dangerous: you become liable for EVERY act your co-conspirators commit in furtherance of the conspiracy.

What this means practicaly is devastating. If you helped organize a PPP fraud scheme, every fraudulent application submitted by anyone in the scheme becomes YOUR crime too. You didn't submit those applications. You didn't receive that money. But you helped make them possible. Under conspiracy law, that makes you liable.

Hockridge learned this the hard way. She didn't submit $63 million in fraudulent applications. Her company FACILITATED them. But under conspiracy law, every one of those applications counted against her at sentencing.

The sentencing guidelines treat conspiracy organizers harshly. If you recruited others into the scheme, that's an enhancement. If you supervised others in the scheme, that's another enhancement. If the scheme involved multiple participants, that's another enhancement. The role adjustments compound rapidily.

Here's how the federal sentencing guidelines calculate these enhancements. A leadership role in an offense involving five or more participants adds 4 levels to your base offense level. An organizer or leader role adds 4 levels. If you recruited accomplices, that can add 2 levels. Each level increase translates to significanly more prison time. For fraud cases in the range were seeing in Dallas, each additional level can mean 12-18 more months in prison.

The Dinesh Sah case shows how these enhancements compound. He submitted 15 applications to 8 different lenders. The base offense level for the fraud amount put him in serious territory. Then prosecutors added enhancements for sophistication - he created fake businesses with fake payroll. They added enhancements for use of minors or sophisticated means. They added enhancements for obstruction if he made false statements during the investigation. By the time all the enhancements were calculated, his guideline range was measured in years, not months.

Think about your own situation. Did you help anyone else apply for PPP? Did you prepare applications for others? Did you recommend a preparer who you knew was cutting corners? Each connection potentialy makes you part of a conspiracy. Each person you helped potentialy makes you an organizer.

The 10-year statute of limitations created by the PPP and Bank Fraud Enforcement Harmonization Act of 2022 means prosecutors have time to unravel every connection. Traditional fraud has a 5-year clock. PPP fraud has 10 years. If applications were submitted in 2020, exposure extends to 2030. Prosecutors aren't rushing. They're building conspiracy cases that capture every participant, with especial focus on the people who made the fraud possible.

Why Preparers and Accountants Are Primary Targets

If you're an accountant, tax preparer, or business consultant who helped clients apply for PPP loans, you need to understand your exposure.

Dallas prosecutors view professional facilitators as force multipliers. One fraudulent applicant can steal a few hundred thousand dollars. One accountant who prepares fraudulent applications for 50 clients can enable millions in fraud. The accountant is the bigger target.

Consider the math prosecutors do. An individual fraudster applies once, maybe twice. They steal $100,000 or $200,000. Bad, but limited impact. An accountant who helps 50 clients apply, each for $100,000, has enabled $5 million in fraud. Same crime, fifty times the damage. Prosecutors understand that shutting down facilitators prevents far more fraud then prosecuting individual applicants.

The Blueacorn case is the extreme example, but the principle applies to every preparer and consultant who helped multiple clients. If you're a CPA who prepared 20 questionable PPP applications, you're a bigger fish then any of those 20 clients. If you're a business consultant who coached 30 people through the application process, your exposure exceeds all of theirs combined.

And prosecutors know exactly how to find you. They subpoena bank records from applicants. They see who prepared the applications. They track patterns - multiple applications with similar structures, similar errors, similar fabricated documents. The patterns lead back to common preparers. The preparers become targets.

Here's the part that should concern you most. Your clients might already be cooperating. When prosecutors arrest individual PPP fraudsters, they offer deals. Reduced sentences in exchange for information. And the most valuable information isn't about other individual fraudsters - it's about the people who helped MULTIPLE people commit fraud.

The person who prepared your clients' applications. The consultant who recommended how to structure the applications. The accountant who created the supporting documents. That's you. And your clients have every incentive to give you up in exchange for reduced sentences.

Every day you wait, more of your clients are potentialy facing charges and cooperating. Every client who cooperates names you. Every application you prepared becomes evidence. The case against you builds while you do nothing.

The cooperation calculus is brutal. Your former clients face prison time. Prosecutors offer them reduced sentences if they provide information about facilitators. You're the facilitator. Your clients have every incentive to cooperate and minimal incentive to protect you. The relationship you thought was professional becomes the relationship that sends you to prison.

At Spodek Law Group, Todd Spodek has handled hundreds of federal fraud cases. The facilitators who call before their clients start cooperating have options. Voluntary disclosure. Proactive cooperation. Strategic positioning as someone who didnt understand they were participating in fraud. The facilitators who call after multiple clients have already named them are fighting conspiracy charges with overwhelming evidence.

Call 212-300-5196 before the people you helped start cooperating against you. Not becuase we're trying to scare you into hiring a lawyer. Becuase in Dallas, with facilitator-focused prosecution and conspiracy enhancements and a 10-year statute of limitations, the applications you helped prepare could be the evidence that sends you to prison for longer then the people you helped.

Spodek Law Group. The Woolworth Building, 233 Broadway Suite 710, New York. We put this information on our website becuase most people who helped others with PPP applications have no idea they're the primary target. Our goal isn't to frighten you. It's to make sure you understand that Dallas prosecutors dont just want the people who received fraudulent loans. They want the people who made the fraud possible. And those people face the harshest sentences.

In Dallas, helping becomes the crime. And helpers get punished most.