Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, has been denied her latest request to remain free and has been ordered to begin her prison sentence on May 30. Holmes sought to appeal her fraud conviction, but US District Judge Edward Davila set the date for her to serve 11 years and three months in jail for defrauding investors with her start-up company.
Holmes was found guilty of deceiving investors by falsely claiming to have developed a groundbreaking medical device. She gained fame by asserting that Theranos’ small devices could conduct various diagnostic tests using just a few drops of blood. In 2014, Forbes even named her the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire at the age of 30, and her stake in Theranos was valued at $4.5 billion. However, the company went bankrupt after the Wall Street Journal raised questions about its technology in 2015.
According to media reports, Judge Davila has recommended that Holmes serve her sentence at a women’s prison in Texas. In addition to the prison time, Davila ordered Holmes and her senior colleague, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, to pay $452 million to the victims of their fraudulent scheme, including Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News, who is owed $125 million. Balwani’s requests to remain free on bail during his appeal were also rejected, and he began serving his sentence on April 20.
Holmes was originally supposed to start her prison term in late April, but her lawyers filed a last-minute appeal on procedural grounds after a previous attempt was dismissed. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Holmes had misrepresented Theranos’ technology and finances. Holmes took the stand in her defense and claimed that she believed her statements were accurate at the time.
Holmes is now appealing several of the judge’s rulings, including his acceptance of evidence regarding the accuracy of Theranos’ tests that predates her disclosures to investors.
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