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
A 15-min, $100K trip to ER left Antioch family with burned infant in billing mess: 'Unbelievable!'
Instead of driving, the Antioch family says they were forced to take a 15-minute airlift and 0.3-mile ambulance ride from the helipad -- costing more than $100K.
Out of dough: Walnut Creek bakery missing $212K, bank account frozen after ID mishap
The bakery's owner was considering shutting down the business or refinancing her home to keep the ovens on -- after Bank of America suddenly shut down her account.
Former Amazon staff raise questions about verification of online sellers: 'I hope they do something'
Former Amazon employees point out there are loopholes in Amazon's Marketplace verification system, allowing overseas sellers to change their address.
Congressional investigation into Palo Alto VA report after fired volunteer alleges unsafe food
A newly-obtained inspection report of the VA facility shows two citations for "critical" failures to "protect against contamination" and food being stored at unsafe temperatures.
Mysterious BBQ sauce deliveries point to 'impersonation' on Walmart site: 'It was non-stop!'
In addition to having huge deliveries of unordered BBQ sauce shipped to her home, the impersonated woman got a cease-and-desist letter from a cough medicine company, alleging she was violating their intellectual property.
DoorDash overcharges family bakery for 8 years, shorts them $100K+: 'They didn't respond'
The family-owned Cupertino business was among the first to partner with DoorDash and soon became one of the "Most Loved" businesses on the app. But it didn't feel that way after discovering this jarring discrepancy. Here's how 7 On Your Side helped.
Nightmare abroad: How to handle insurance denials overseas: 'He was in the ER for a month!'
After his doctors OK'd him to travel, a Bay Area man battling cancer landed in a Portuguese hospital with sepsis. When he was able to return home, he faced another battle: with his insurance company.
'It's been hell': Hundreds of unwanted Amazon packages shipped to SJ woman's home for over a year
The online seller put the woman's San Jose address on their return labels, leaving her stuck in this mess -- with scores of packages blocking her driveway, mailbox, and doorway.
'My god!': Here's how a Bay Area couple almost paid $30,000 more on their income taxes
A $30,000 mistake. When paying the IRS, a Bay Area taxpayer wrote the correct amount of $3,360 on the numerical value box on her check. But she accidentally miswrote on the "Pay to the order of" line. Here's what happened.
'Falsifying temps': Palo Alto VA fires veteran who captured hospital allegedly storing food unsafely
"It's below health standards," a veteran volunteer told 7 On Your Side. "And what's even worse... Our patients there are facing a lot of chronic health conditions and they're more vulnerable (to) food poisoning."