Judge Edward Davila gave Holmes a term of 11 years, 3 months in jail, followed by 3 more years of probation. In addition, the defendant must pay a $400 penalty, or $100 for every count of deception. A later time will be chosen for restitution. On April 27, 2023, Holmes was required to present herself to law enforcement. She will probably challenge her verdict.
Following her trial in January for cheating shareholders while operating the failed medical testing business Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes was jailed on Friday to more than Eleven years in prison.
Holmes, who was convicted in January of 4 counts of scamming shareholders, was subject to a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison, a $250,000 penalty, and restitution for every count. While Holmes’ probation officer fought for a 9 years sentence, the govt’s attorneys requested for a 15-year jail sentence, along with probation and restitution.
While Holmes’ probation officer fought for a 9 sentence, the govt’s attorneys requested for a 15-year jail sentence, along with probation and restitution. Holmes’ legal team requested that the judge who oversaw her case, Davila, sentence her to a maximum of Eighteen months in jail, following by probation and community outreach.
She also expressed her regrets to Theranos’ staff members, investors, and clients. I’m truly sorry. She claimed that I contributed everything I had in order to create and preserve our business. With every cell in my body, I am sorry for my mistakes.
George Demos, a previous SEC enforcement attorney and adjunct law professor at UC Davis, claimed that the judge’s strong punishment proves that fraud cannot pass for creativity in Silicon Valley. Elizabeth Holmes said she accepts responsibility for Theranos when offered the chance to speak, but she didn’t even say she accepts responsibility for the deception.
Even though Holmes can’t benefit financially from the scam, federal prosecutor Jeffrey Schenk noted that she did earn recognition, admiration, and a lifestyle as a result of it. He stated, These are still benefits she is receiving.
The shocking end to Holmes’ life came on Friday at the sentencing hearing. She was once lauded as a tech industry hero for her company’s promises to test for a variety of illnesses with just a few drops of blood, but she is now the rare tech inventor to be found guilty and sentenced to prison for her company’s errors.
Kevin Downey, one among Holmes’ attorneys, argued before the court of law on Friday regarding her sentencing, saying that unlike most defendants in corporate fraud cases, the founder of Theranos did not show greed by cashing out shares or spending money on yachts and planes. Instead, medical technology development was funded by the funds.
Holmes, who is now 38, founded Theranos in 2003 when she was Nineteen years old and shortly after left Stanford University to focus solely on the business. After operating underneath the radar for a decade, Holmes started courting the media with allegations that Theranos has developed technology that allowed for a variety of conditions to be precisely and consistently tested with only just few drops of blood from a finger prick.
A who of wealthy backers, included Walmart’s Walton family, media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and the billionaire family of ex education secretary Betsy DeVos, helped Theranos raise $945 million. Theranos was appraised at $9 billion at its height, making Holmes a phony billionaire. She regularly wore a distinctive black turtleneck that drew analogies to the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs and was praised on magazine covers. She hasn’t appeared in court with that expression.
Theranos invalidated 2 years worth of results from blood tests in 2016. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed serious fraud accusations against Holmes and Theranos in 2018, but as part of the settlement, neither party admitted or denied any of the allegations. Soon later, Theranos was no longer.
After a Wall Street Journal inquiry in 2015 revealed that the firm had only ever completed a few of the hundreds of tests it offers using its own blood testing instrument, with uncertain accuracy, the business started to fall apart. Theranos was dependent on products made by third parties for conventional blood testing businesses.
In her trial, Holmes claimed that while running Theranos, she had been in an unhealthy relationship with Ramesh Sunny Balwani, the company’s COO, for ten years. She claimed that Balwani sought to regulate almost every part of her life, isolating herself from other people and controlling her eating, speech, and appearance. Attorneys for Balwani rejected her allegations.
Balwani, who was convicted of all 12 crimes in a separate trial in July, is also eligible for the maximum prison sentence. On December 7, Balwani is due to get his punishment.
Federal prosecutors stated in a court document about Holmes sentencing in November that the repercussions of Holmes and Balwani’s fraudulent behavior were extensive and serious. Numerous investors lost more than $700 million, and many patients received health information from Theranos’ defective tests that was either completely wrong or unreliable, endangering their health.
More than a hundred people wrote letters to Davila in Holmes’ defense pleading for compassion in her punishment. The list includes Sen. Cory Booker, Holmes’ business partner Billy Evans, numerous Holmes and Evans family members, and early Theranos investor Tim Draper. Years before she was accused, Booker recalled meeting her at a dinner and becoming friends and over fact that they had been both vegetarian who have nothing to eat but just a bag of walnuts that they share.
Booker noted how he continued to think of her as a friend and said, I still feel that she hangs onto the optimism that she will make a contribution to the life of others, and that she can, notwithstanding faults, transform the world into a better place.
Prior to the trial, there were concerns about how changes in Holmes’ life following her departure from Theranos may affect her sentence. Evans, Holmes’ boyfriend, and their kid were introduced in 2017. Holmes’ most recent court appearance in the middle of October and recent court documents both demonstrate that she is pregnant.
Prior to the hearing, white-collar defense attorney and previous federal prosecutor Mark MacDougall stated that Holmes’ young kid may have an impact on her sentencing. He said, Just because judges are humans, I don’t see how it can’t.
Additionally, MacDougall stated that he does not see the purpose of a lengthy prison term. He stated Elizabeth Holmes wouldn’t ever again be in charge of a significant business. She will never be in a situation in which something similar can occur anymore.