Former WCVB anchor Bianca de la Garza lands new gig at Newsmax

Former WCVB anchor Bianca de la Garza has garnered a new shot at news reporting on the pro-Trump cable network Newsmax.

De la Garza, 46, first appeared on Newsmax last summer as a guest host. In January, she announced her new role as the co-anchor for the midday show, John Bachman Now.

The Mexican-American journalist entered the news media in 1997 after graduating from Emerson College in Boston. She worked in several different news reporting roles for network affiliates across the country, including in Albany, New York; San Diego, California; and finally back in Boston.

But de la Garza’s biggest role came when she joined WCVB, Boston’s ABC affiliate, in 2007 as its morning news anchor. During her time in local news, she earned several Emmy nominations, and led coverage of major stories such as the capture of Osama Bin Laden and the Boston Marathon bombing.

In 2014, de la Garza left WCVB to start her own production company, Lucky Gal Productions, where she hosted “Bianca Unanchored,” a late-night New England talk show. Despite the show landing on several affiliates, having many notable guests, and garnering three Emmy nominations, it wrapped in 2015 after only two seasons.

After leaving TV, de la Garza created a cosmetics line called Bianca de la Garza Beauty, which is no longer in production, hosted another short-lived program, and invested in several other business ventures.

But in 2020, the former news anchor’s name appeared in headlines when it was revealed that the long-time executive and chief financial officer of Alden Shoes, Richard Hajjar, secretly stole more than $20 million from the family-owned shoemaker, and had used $15 million on de la Garza’s behalf.

Much of the money was used on gifts for de la Garza, including a Mercedes-Benz, expensive jewelry, and a million-dollar New York City apartment. He had also bankrolled “Bianca Unanchored.”

Hajjar pleaded guilty to embezzlement in May 2021, was sentenced to 70 months in prison, and was ordered to pay $34 million in restitution. So far, he has paid back $5 million and surrendered his house.

During sentencing, Hajjar’s lawyers portrayed de la Garza as the motivator for the embezzlement, though de la Garza’s lawyers purported she had no idea that the money was embezzled.

De la Garza was never charged with a crime, but reached a confidential settlement with Alden Shoes last year, returning the relatively small amount of money that she still had from Hajjar.

According to The Daily Beast, de la Garza has not signed a contract with Newsmax, so she is likely working as a freelancer. The news website also said that the company has never acknowledged that she joined the channel, all of which leaves some questions marks in regards to her future at Newsmax.

Neither Bianca de la Garza nor Newsmax were immediately available for comment on this article.