Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced CEO of Theranos, has been denied her request to avoid federal prison while she appeals her conviction for fraud.
The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in an 11-page decision on Monday, states that there is insufficient evidence to support Holmes’ request for bail while her lawyers argue that alleged misconduct during her trial resulted in an unfair verdict. This development sheds light on the darker side of Silicon Valley, as the fallout from the blood-testing scam perpetrated by Theranos continues to unravel.
Following the judge’s decision, Elizabeth Holmes, aged 39, will need to surrender to authorities on April 27 to begin serving her more than an 11-year prison sentence, which was imposed by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in November. This sentence came after a jury found her guilty on four counts of fraud and conspiracy, relating to the Theranos scandal where she had deceived investors who had put their faith in her promises to revolutionize the healthcare industry.
In an effort to persuade U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in a San Jose, California courtroom, Elizabeth Holmes and her legal team presented arguments on March 17. They highlighted alleged missteps by federal prosecutors and the omission of crucial evidence, with the goal of securing an exoneration from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Elizabeth Holmes, the former CEO of Theranos, is scheduled to begin her prison sentence approximately 20 years after she dropped out of Stanford University at the age of 19 to start the now-infamous company in Palo Alto, California – the birthplace of Silicon Valley where Hewlett and Packard once founded their namesake company in a garage. While Holmes may still file another appeal against U.S. District Judge Edward Davila’s recent ruling, her co-conspirator Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani’s appeal was rejected by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and he is set to report to a prison in Southern California on April 20.
Judge Davila has recommended that Holmes serve her sentence in a prison in Bryan, Texas, although it has not been publicly confirmed if that will be the facility where she will report. If unable to stay free, Holmes will be separated from her two children, born before and after her trial and conviction with her current partner, William “Billy” Evans, whom she met after breaking up with Balwani during Theranos’ downfall.
The denial of Holmes’ request to remain free is the latest development in a long-running saga that has been the subject of a highly-acclaimed HBO documentary and an award-winning Hulu TV series. Although Holmes and Balwani had separate trials, they were both accused of similar crimes related to Theranos’ fraudulent blood-testing system that deceived investors and raised nearly $1 billion in Silicon Valley, propelling Holmes to a once-heralded status compared to tech visionaries like Steve Jobs.
However, Theranos’ technology was revealed to be a failure, leading to the company’s collapse and a criminal case that exposed the greed and hubris of Silicon Valley. Holmes’ downfall serves as a cautionary tale of deception and false promises in the tech industry, with far-reaching consequences for her and those involved in the Theranos scandal.