Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes loses bid to avoid prison in a blood-testing fraud case, ordered to pay $452M in restitution
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Convicted Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes’ application was rejected by a court to overturn her 11-year sentence in a fraud case. She was found guilty of a blood-testing hoax jointly with her ex-lover Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani. In another ruling, US District Judge Edward Davila ordered Holmes to pay $452 million in restitution to the victims of her crimes late Tuesday, May 16.
The judgment on her appeal came three weeks later after the last-minute legal maneuver to delay the start of her 11-year sentence by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Holmes will be serving the sentence while leaving behind her current partner William ‘Billy Evans, their one-year-old son, William, and their 3-month-old daughter, Invicta. Judge Davila had earlier recommended that Holmes serve her sentence at a women’s prison in Bryan, Texas. However, there is no clarity on whether the Federal Bureau of Prisons accepted Davila’s recommendation or assigned Holmes to another facility.
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Judge denies Elizabeth Holmes' request to stay out of prison while she appeals fraud conviction
Co-convict Ramesh Balwani is serving 13 years behind bars
Meanwhile, Balwani, 57, began his prison term in April after being convicted on 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy last July. He tried a similar appeal to remain free on bail while appealing his conviction but was incarcerated in a Southern California prison in April. Defrauding investors of millions by falsely claiming that Theranos technology could run hundreds of medical tests with just a few drops of blood in 2014, led to the downfall of Holmes.
Holmes' conviction is based on multiple factors
Judge Davila explained that Holmes' conviction was based on more than one factor such as fraudulent statements to investors, the company's finances, and alleged business connections. “Whether the jury heard more or less evidence that tended to show the accuracy and reliability of Theranos technology does not diminish the evidence the jury heard of other misrepresentations Ms. Holmes made to investors,” Davila said, per NBC.
Davila also commented on Holmes booking a one-way ticket to Mexico. "Booking international travel plans for a criminal defendant in anticipation of a complete defense victory is a bold move and the failure to promptly cancel those plans after a guilty verdict is a perilously careless oversight,” the judge said.
