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Blueacorn in court: its founders, lenders, marketers and bank, 2021–2026

Between June 28, 2021 and January 8, 2026, Blueacorn’s companies and founders filed or faced 11 lawsuits, arbitrations and court petitions involving one another, both of Blueacorn’s lenders, two companies that brought it borrowers, and JPMorgan Chase. Each entry gives the court, the number, the parties, the claims where the record states them, and the outcome as of the last record we have.

The matters on one timeline

  1. Founders
  2. Capital Plus
  3. Prestamos
  4. Marketers•
  5. Bank
  • Filed to last event
  • Still pending at the last record
  • No record after filing
  • •One dated ruling; filing date not in our copies

Each bar runs from the filing to the last event in the record. Select a bar to read the entry.

Every matter

Founders

  1. Reis and Hockridge v. Spirakus

    Court
    Maricopa County Superior Court, Arizona, No. CV2021-010252
    Dates
    Filed June 28, 2021; last event July 27, 2021
    Parties
    Nathan Reis and Stephanie Hockridge (plaintiffs); Noah Spirakus (defendant).
    Claims
    Verified complaint with an application for an order to show cause. The register does not state the claims. The filing came 33 days after the May 26, 2021 operating agreement that, the House report says, split Blueacorn PPP, LLC 50–50 between Spirakus on one side and Reis and Hockridge on the other (House report, p. 27).
    Outcome
    Spirakus opposed the application on July 16, 2021. The plaintiffs filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice on July 23, and the case was dismissed on July 27, 2021. No ruling on the merits. As of: register retrieved Sept. 27, 2026.
    Not yet seen
    The complaint and the response are on the clerk’s paid system; we do not have them.
    Record

  2. YXS Investments, Proteck and FEFO Group v. Capital Plus

    Court
    U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, No. 4:24-cv-00664-P
    Dates
    Filed July 17, 2024; last event February 2025
    Parties
    YXS Investments, Inc., Proteck, LLC (Michael Cota) and FEFO Group, LLC (James Flores) v. Capital Plus Financial, Crossroads, Eric Donnelly and Farzana Giga. Blueacorn is not a party.
    Claims
    Breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith, fraudulent transfer, and money had and received, over the founders’ 8 percent share of Capital Plus’s SBA fees under an April 12, 2021 settlement about the ownership of Fin Cap (complaint).
    Outcome
    Closed in February 2025. The free docket does not show how. As of: CourtListener docket.
    Not yet seen
    The closing entries are on PACER only.
    Record

Capital Plus

  1. Fin Cap (Blueacorn) v. Capital Plus, arbitration

    Court
    American Arbitration Association, No. 01-23-0001-1748
    Dates
    Filed March 21, 2023; last event April 29, 2024
    Parties
    Fin Cap, Inc. d/b/a Blueacorn (claimant); Capital Plus Financial, LLC (respondent, with counterclaims).
    Claims
    Breach of the lender service provider agreement, or in the alternative unjust enrichment and quantum meruit; $244,166,298.44 claimed (Texas application, paras. 25–26). Capital Plus filed counterclaims in May 2023 and posted a $5 million bond for interim access to loan documents (FY2023 audited financials, note 19).
    Outcome
    Confidential Final Award, April 29, 2024, filed under seal. Blueacorn says part has been paid and a $19,796,022.81 reserve is payable, to PayNerd unless PayNerd agrees otherwise or a court rules for Blueacorn (application, paras. 9–12). As of: Blueacorn’s application, Apr. 3, 2025.
    Not yet seen
    The award is sealed.
    Record

  2. Fin Cap v. Capital Plus, prejudgment writs

    Court
    352nd District Court, Tarrant County, Texas, No. 352-341122-23
    Dates
    Filed March 23, 2023; no later record
    Parties
    Fin Cap, Inc. d/b/a Blueacorn v. Capital Plus Financial LLC; garnishees Evolve Bank & Trust and Crossroads.
    Claims
    Writs of attachment and garnishment in aid of the arbitration, to secure what Blueacorn said Capital Plus owed.
    Outcome
    No ruling in the records we have. As of: file stamp, Mar. 23, 2023.
    Not yet seen
    We do not have a court copy of the application or the register.
    Record
    • Fin Cap, Inc. v. Capital Plus Financial LLC, 352nd District Court, Tarrant County, Texas, No. 352-341122-23: Blueacorn’s application for prejudgment writs of attachment and garnishment, with the Calhoun affidavit and exhibits (file-stamped Mar. 23, 2023). We do not have a court copy.

  3. Fin Cap v. Capital Plus, confirmation of the award

    Court
    U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, No. 2:25-cv-01122-MTL
    Dates
    Filed April 3, 2025; last event May 21, 2025
    Parties
    Fin Cap Incorporated d/b/a Blueacorn v. Capital Plus Financial LLC.
    Claims
    Confirmation of the April 29, 2024 award under 9 U.S.C. § 9 and judgment under 9 U.S.C. § 13 (application).
    Outcome
    Capital Plus agreed to the form of order (stipulated notice). Judge Michael T. Liburdi confirmed the award and ordered judgment for Blueacorn “as described in the Final Award,” with no fees or costs to either side (order). Amended judgment May 21, 2025; case terminated (judgment). As of: judgment, May 21, 2025.
    Record

Prestamos

  1. BA PPP Fin v. Prestamos CDFI

    Court
    Maricopa County Superior Court, Arizona, No. CV2026-001079
    Dates
    Filed January 8, 2026; last event February 2, 2026
    Parties
    BA PPP Fin, LLC, the Blueacorn company that signed the Prestamos agreement, v. Prestamos CDFI, LLC; third-party defendants docketed as “Blueacord PPP, LLC,” “Blueacord Tech Inc” and Blue Oak Forest LLC.
    Claims
    Application for confirmation of an arbitration award, filed January 8, 2026, with two notices of errata and a motion to seal exhibits.
    Outcome
    Judgment filed February 2, 2026 and noted “FINAL”; signed February 3. The register shows no amount. As of: register retrieved Sept. 27, 2026.
    Not yet seen
    The application, the award and the judgment are on the clerk’s paid system, and the exhibits were the subject of a motion to seal.
    Record

Marketers

  1. Womply v. Capital Plus and Blueacorn

    Court
    Dallas County district court, removed to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, No. DC-21-13097; 3:21-cv-02636-B
    Dates
    Filed September 9, 2021; last event January 5, 2023
    Parties
    Oto Analytics, Inc. d/b/a Womply v. Capital Plus Financial, Crossroads, Eric Donnelly, BA Fin Orion, LLC d/b/a Blueacorn and Barry Calhoun.
    Claims
    Womply, which referred borrowers to Capital Plus through BA Fin Orion, said it was owed $76,714,482.67 in fees (notice of removal; amended complaint).
    Outcome
    The Blueacorn defendants were dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction on April 11, 2022 (order); on July 20, 2022 the court gave Womply leave to replead its claims against them (order). The case settled and was dismissed with prejudice January 5, 2023 (Doc. 156). Terms not public. As of: dismissal, Jan. 5, 2023.
    Record

  2. Fin Cap and Blueacorn PPP v. PayNerd

    Court
    Delaware Superior Court (Complex Commercial Litigation Division), No. N21C-12-118
    Dates
    Filed December 23, 2021; pending at April 3, 2025
    Parties
    Fin Cap, Inc. and Blueacorn PPP, LLC v. PayNerd LLC, PayNerdier LLC, Matthew Mandell and Taylor Hendricksen; PayNerd’s counterclaims and third-party claims name Fin Cap, Blueacorn, Nathan Reis, Noah Spirakus and Barry Calhoun.
    Claims
    Blueacorn’s lawyers told Congress the suit sought “to recover at least $175 million in payments it made to its principal provider of marketing services” (Blueacorn letter of Feb. 4, 2022, n. 1). PayNerd’s counterclaims, filed December 21, 2022, allege breach of contract and fraudulent inducement. All are allegations.
    Outcome
    November 3, 2022: after a motion to dismiss, five of Blueacorn’s counts remain. August 16, 2023: PayNerd’s fraudulent-inducement and contract counterclaims survive, and Reis’s motion to dismiss is denied (opinion; Court of Chancery opinion). Still pending on April 3, 2025, when Blueacorn told the Arizona court it was “presently in litigation with PayNerd” (application, para. 13). As of: Blueacorn’s application, Apr. 3, 2025.
    Not yet seen
    We do not have the docket after 2024, so we do not know whether the court has ruled on the reserve.
    Record

  3. Blueacorn PPP v. Pay Nerd, negligent misrepresentation

    Court
    Delaware Court of Chancery, No. 2023-0414-MMJ
    Dates
    Opinion January 29, 2024; the filing date and later events are not in our copies
    Parties
    Blueacorn PPP, LLC v. Pay Nerd LLC, Paynerdier LLC, Matthew Mandell and Taylor Hendricksen.
    Claims
    The negligent-misrepresentation count from the Superior Court case, which only the Court of Chancery can hear; the same judge sits in both.
    Outcome
    Motion to dismiss denied January 29, 2024 (unsealed February 8, 2024) (opinion). As of: opinion, Jan. 29, 2024.
    Not yet seen
    The filing date and later docket are not in our copies.
    Record

  4. Pay Nerd subpoena to Capital Plus’s finance chief

    Court
    431st District Court, Denton County, Texas, No. 24-4384-431
    Dates
    Filed May 16, 2024; last event May 28, 2024
    Parties
    Pay Nerd LLC (petitioner), under a commission from the Delaware Superior Court; witness Farzana Giga, chief financial officer of Capital Plus and Crossroads (YXS complaint, para. 29).
    Claims
    Petition for a Texas subpoena in aid of the Delaware case.
    Outcome
    Subpoena served on Giga May 20, 2024 and returned served May 28, 2024. As of: register, retrieved July 7, 2026.
    Not yet seen
    We do not have the petition or the commission.
    Record

Bank

  1. Fin Cap v. JPMorgan Chase Bank

    Court
    Maricopa County Superior Court, Arizona, No. CV2021-054011
    Dates
    Filed November 10, 2021; last event December 21, 2021
    Parties
    Fin Cap Inc (plaintiff) v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
    Claims
    The register does not state the claims.
    Outcome
    Notice of voluntary dismissal filed December 21, 2021. As of: register retrieved Sept. 27, 2026.
    Not yet seen
    The complaint is on the clerk’s paid system; we do not have it.
    Record

Not charted

  • A Nevada case captioned Fin Cap Inc. v. Pay Nerd LLC (Clark County District Court No. A-24-891783-C). We have not been able to read its register or any filing, so it is not charted.
  • Criminal cases against Blueacorn’s founders are on the profiles of Nathan Reis and Stephanie Hockridge.

The money behind the Capital Plus cases: What Capital Plus owed in December 2022, line by line and Blueacorn won against Capital Plus; the arbitrator said $19.8 million should go to PayNerd. Download the matters: matters.csv.

Sources

Each linked document opens our copy’s record page, which links the original where one is public. Documents listed without a link are cited from the filing named; we do not have a copy we can publish.

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