⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Fifth Circuit considers Nathan Reis's sentence for pandemic-relief loan fraud. Reis co-founded Blueacorn, a service provider that helped applicants obtain loans through the federal Paycheck Protection Program. The company earned money as loans were funded. Reis and others used false applications to obtain money for borrowers who did not qualify. He pleaded guilty to joining the fraud conspiracy. The district judge sentenced him to ten years in prison and ordered more than sixty-six million dollars in restitution. The argument you are about to hear concerns the loss calculation behind that punishment, not whether Reis participated in fraud. How much loan money was actually lost through conduct for which he can be held responsible? Listen for the difference between a warning sign that a loan might be fraudulent and evidence that it was fraudulent. The lawyers will discuss loan spreadsheets, individual applications and the scale of the wider scheme. Keep two consequences in mind: the prison sentence and the order to repay money. If the loss calculation changes, must both change, or could the prison term stay the same? Those are the questions that frame this argument.

United States v. Nathan Reis (No. 25-11394) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued November 3, 2026.