A federal judge dismissed a plea made by disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes that sought to allow her to remain free on bail as she appeals her fraud conviction, which could see her serve more than 11 years in prison.
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes moves through security while on her way to court in San Jose, California.
Getty Images
Key Facts
Holmes’ plea was rejected by U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila, who last year sentenced her to 11 years and three months in prison after she was convicted by a jury of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud investors.
In his ruling on Monday, Davila said Holmes failed to show that her appeals process will result in a reversal or retrial of “all counts on which imprisonment has been imposed.”
The judge noted that Holmes’ “misrepresentations to Theranos investors involved more than just whether Theranos technology ‘worked as promised,’” rejecting her argument that the “accuracy and reliability” of Theranos’ blood tests were the main cause behind her conviction.
What To Watch For
Holmes has been ordered to begin serving her sentence from April 27. Holmes has filed a plea with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review the conviction. It is unclear if she will ask the appellate court to also grant her bail while her appeals are being heard. In January, prosecutors had argued against allowing Holmes to remain free, alleging she was a flight risk. However, Davila noted in his ruling that Holmes is “not a flight risk or a danger to the safety of the community.”
Key Background
The 39-year-old former billionaire is the founder of Theranos, a failed blood-testing startup that promised a major medical breakthrough. The company, which briefly became one of the breakout stars of Silicon Valley, claimed that its machines could perform multiple diagnostic tests on a single drop of blood, eliminating the need to draw a full vial from a patient. Holmes’ company received funding from the likes of Rupert Murdoch, the Walton family, Larry Ellison, and several other high-profile names. An investigative report about the company and its machines—which failed to carry out the promised tests—was published by the Wall Street Journal in 2015, prompting a wider investigation. Both Holmes and her business partner Sunny Balwani were hit with federal criminal charges in 2018.
