Stephanie Sierra
From fraud and corruption to health care and public safety - her beat encompasses a little bit of everything.
Over the past four years at KGO-TV, she has been committed to exposing abuse of power and taxpayer money at every level of government. These stories have exposed well-known nonprofits, politicians, and influential billionaires.
In 2023, she won a regional Emmy for her investigation into a local county Sheriff accused of favoring campaign donors when issuing concealed carry permits. The story prompted action from the FBI's political corruption unit and the county Board of Supervisors. As a result, a local oversight organization fought to ensure accountability and transparency in future operations within the department.
Her investigations have exposed loopholes in numerous state laws that have resulted in added protections for wildfire insurance, medical billing, and regional cybersecurity practices. In April, her series on Oakland's ransomware hack revealed a pattern of oversight and negligence - causing dozens of people who had their social security numbers leaked but were never notified by the city.
In February, she exposed concerns about sex trafficking operations outside a grade school in Oakland that prompted action from local and federal authorities to install barricades and cameras to deter the crime.
Stephanie reported extensively on public health during the pandemic. Her work shed light on critical new medical technologies-including a Bay Area COVID-testing company that worked with the California Dept. of Public Health to save the State tens of millions of dollars with processing costs.
While at ABC7, her public health and consumer reporting have received multiple Emmy nominations from the Northern California Academy of Arts & Sciences and prompted action by the FDA.
She's also covered the gruesome murder trials of Chris Watts and Patrick Frazee in Colorado to the high-profile fraud trial of Elizabeth Holmes on the Peninsula.
Her passion for journalism started during her time at Mercy High School in Burlingame. "Career Day" transformed into a lifelong pursuit of storytelling. She graduated from the University of Missouri, majoring in broadcast journalism with a focus on investigative journalism.
After graduating, she braved the bomb cyclone blizzards and high altitude of the Rockies at the ABC affiliate in Colorado Springs (KRDO-TV) as an anchor and investigative reporter. Her year-long investigation uncovering the illicit massage industry in southern Colorado resulted in six women being rescued from human trafficking operations. It was honored with a regional Emmy and two National Edward R. Murrow awards. This followed years of consumer reporting on widespread contractor scams that prompted action by the Federal Trade Commission.
Stephanie is happy to be back home in the Bay Area, surrounded by the ocean views and majestic redwoods. You can often find her in San Francisco's Marina district with her 5-year-old dog Bubba!
If you have a story idea or want to say hello - contact her at Stephanie.K.Sierra@abc.com or on social platforms @StephanieABC7 & @StephanieKSierra.
Stephanie's Stories
Here's how Bay Area teacher's $5 tip mistakenly turned into $5,000
Imagine you walk into a store, buy a couple items -- and instead of leaving a $5 tip, you later learn an extra three zeros were tacked onto your bill.
Bay Area insurance agent alleges Farmers issued questionable cancellations: 'I want the truth out'
What do you do if you get paperwork in the mail saying you requested to cancel your own policy... but you never did?
State Farm requests another rate hike, 1 week after CA approved the last one: Here's how much
Starting in June, State Farm will raise premiums by 17% for homeowners. If this latest request is granted, the company could push that figure as high as 30% by the year 2026.Condo owners and renters could pay a lot more, too.
CA approves State Farm's emergency rate hike; increases as high as 38% start June 1
Starting next month, millions of Californians will see a sharp rise in their property insurance premiums as State Farm got the official green light from the state's insurance commissioner.
Records justifying CA insurance commissioner's taxpayer-funded travel missing despite requests
Despite promises of "transparency," the California Department of Insurance failed to produce records specifying the business purpose of Ricardo Lara's trips. "It's hard to really fathom why something like that would take so long," a former CalHR manager said.
91-year-old veteran faces snowballing payday loan with 682% interest rate. Here's how it is legal
While the Yountville resident paid off his $900 loan within two months, he was still on the hook for $2,646.69 in interest charges.
CA insurance commissioner found to have spent $30K on lavish meals, report says
Commissioner Lara's expensive dinners were sometimes with insurance industry bigwigs, and one-third were earmarked as "campaign meetings" despite Lara not actively running for office.
State Farm faces questions about accuracy of rate hike amid conflict with expert witness
The expert witness currently has a consulting contract with the Department of Insurance where she not only has access to confidential information, but is specifically assessing rates for State Farm.
CA insurance boss not present at hearing as State Farm makes case to raise insurance rates up to 38%
Michael Soller, the Deputy Commissioner of Communications for the Department of Insurance, says by law, Commissioner Ricardo Lara is not considered a participant in Tuesday's hearing.
Department of Insurance to hear State Farm's justifications for rate hike as high as 38%
During State Farm's last meeting with the commissioner, the company says it can cover claims from the LA fires, but deemed the fires left State Farm's financial condition in a "dire" state.