Profiles · DefendantsControversial
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The profile
Defendant in a prosecution related to the Blueacorn founders' case: pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and received three years' probation with $1,844,410.40 in restitution, shared jointly and severally with co-founder James Flores.
Individuals whose conduct was challenged or called into question during or after the pandemic. See sources: Felony information, Jan. 5, 2024 Judgment, Oct. 1, 2025
In the archive
Identity and role
Michael Cota was charged in the Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth Division) as one of three defendants (with James Flores and Vivian Arriaga) prosecuted alongside, but separately from, the Blueacorn founders' case against Nathan Reis and Stephanie Hockridge. A civil naming-rights case caption in the archive (Beringer Commerce, Inc. d/b/a Blue Acorn iCi v. Fin Cap, Inc. d/b/a "Blueacorn.co," Blue Acorn PPP, LLC, et al., E.D.N.C.; complaint summary) names a Michael S. Cota among the defendants; whether that is the same person is not established in the records we have.
Cota appears in the public record through the Blueacorn-linked prosecutions. His criminal case, like Flores's and Arriaga's, was handled by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means, a different judge from the Reis/Hockridge case, which was tried before Chief Judge Reed O'Connor.
The case / pandemic-relief role
The charge was a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 371 (object offense 18 U.S.C. § 1343), with the offense charged as concluded May 31, 2021, the same end date as the related Flores and Arriaga counts. The conspiracy concerned fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications submitted through the Blueacorn-linked channel; venue rested in the Northern District of Texas, where a partner lender was headquartered (per the factual resume in the related Arriaga case). Like Flores, Cota was charged by felony information rather than grand-jury indictment.
Legal status
- Charged: by one-count felony information filed January 5, 2024 — United States v. Cota, No. 4:24-CR-005-Y (N.D. Tex., Fort Worth Division).
- Pleaded: guilty on January 31, 2024 to the single conspiracy count (plea agreement and factual resume filed the same day).
- Sentenced: September 30, 2025 (judgment signed October 1, 2025) by Judge Terry R. Means: 3 years' probation, a $100 special assessment, and restitution of $1,844,410.40 payable to the U.S. Small Business Administration, joint and several with James Flores (No. 4:24-CR-306-Y); of that, $45,617.75 is joint and several with Vivian Arriaga (No. 4:24-CR-006-Y). The court imposed no fine, finding he lacked the resources to pay one in addition to restitution.
Where they are now
Cota is serving the three-year probation term imposed in September 2025, with standard financial-disclosure and payment conditions (minimum $500 per month toward restitution). No public record of current business activity was identified.
Sources held in this archive
Related profiles
- James Flores — co-restitution obligor; pleaded guilty in the parallel case.
- Vivian Arriaga — the third defendant in the trio; shares the $45,617.75 restitution component.
- Nathan Reis and Stephanie Hockridge — the Blueacorn founders convicted in the related lead case.
Sources
- Felony Information, U.S. v. Cota, No. 4:24-CR-005-Y (N.D. Tex. Jan. 5, 2024) (obtained via PACER/RECAP).
- Plea Agreement and Factual Resume (Jan. 31, 2024) — local files, same directory.
- Judgment in a Criminal Case, ECF 97 (signed Oct. 1, 2025; sentence imposed Sept. 30, 2025) — 3 years' probation; restitution $1,844,410.40 j/s with Flores, $45,617.75 j/s with Arriaga — local file doc-097-2025-10-01-Judgment Cota.
- Judgment in U.S. v. Arriaga, No. 4:24-CR-006-Y, ECF 88 (cross-referencing the joint-and-several structure).