Inside cushy Texas prison recommended for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes which has 'no bars or fences'
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA: CEO of Theranos and convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, 38, will serve more than 11-year prison sentence in a minimum-security prison camp in Texas, recommended a federal judge. Homles who has a year-old child and is pregnant with a second was convicted of deceiving investors in her bogus blood-testing company on Friday, November 18.
Judge Edward Davila of the Northern District of California recommended she serve her 135 months sentence at Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas. FPC Bryan is described as a “minimum security federal prison camp,” on its website. Criminal defense attorney Alan Ellis said the 37-acre campus houses 540 female inmates in “dormitory housing” are like “heaven” compared to other prisons. If Holmes serves her sentence there, he said, she will have “no walls, no bars, no fences,” reported New York Post. She will also have access to the tennis court and a running track. On the weekends, inmates are also allowed multiple visitors at the facility.
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However, the distance could be an issue for visitation at the low-security camp for Holmes's family as she would be 1800 miles away from California. Nevertheless, the final decision on where the pregnant Holmes will serve her time will be made by the Bureau of Prisons. She is expected to begin her incarceration on April 27, 2023, while it is also reported that she will likely have given birth prior to that. Holmes' signature all-black look could be exchanged for pastel green, gray and white scrubs.
The former billionaire who was convicted in four counts of criminal fraud in her years-long scheme to peddle bad blood testing technology at Theranos and defraud investors could also receive close to a 15% reduction in prison time with good behavior, said, federal prosecutors. This means Holmes' sentence could be closer to 9.5 with no possibility of parole. Despite, the tech fraudsters' legal team arguing that Holmes deserved more lenient treatment because she is now a devoted mother, she was given a shorter sentence than the 15-year penalty requested by federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors are also seeking $804 million in restitution to investors. A judge will later hold a hearing that will determine how much Holmes will have to repay. The convicted suspect's legal team is also expected to appeal her sentence, while her attorney will also seek to let her stay out of prison on bail, pending the appeal's outcome.