⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Fifth Circuit hears United States versus Stephanie Hockridge, an appeal from a pandemic-loan fraud prosecution. Hockridge helped found Blueacorn, which assisted borrowers seeking government-backed loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. Prosecutors said she and others submitted false applications, including fabricated income and payroll information, to obtain relief money. Hockridge disputes that she knowingly agreed to commit fraud. A jury convicted her of conspiracy to commit wire fraud but acquitted her of four separate wire-fraud counts. The appeal concerns the fairness of that trial and the validity of its result. Two distinctions will help you follow the argument. First, venue means the proper geographic district for a trial. Keep that question separate from whether the defendant knowingly joined a fraudulent agreement. Listen for what must connect a conspiracy to the trial district, and what jurors must be told about that connection. Second, the defense challenges access to information about a prosecution witness. After trial, additional witness-interview material was disclosed. Hockridge will argue that it could have undermined the witness's account that she instructed him in PPP fraud. The government will answer that other evidence corroborated his account and that the additional interviews would not have changed the result. The district court denied a new trial, finding no Brady violation. Brady requires disclosure of favorable evidence within the prosecution team's responsibility when it is material to guilt or punishment. Material does not just mean helpful: it means a reasonable probability of a different result, sufficient to undermine confidence in the verdict. The parties also dispute whether additional files held in a separate Oregon investigation fell within the Texas prosecutors' responsibility. As you listen, separate where the case may be tried, what information the jury heard, and whether any claimed error could have affected the conviction.

United States v. Stephanie Hockridge (No. 25-11332) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued November 3, 2026.