Justice is finally served. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for fraud, putting an end to the three-year case and the extraordinary downfall of a one-time Silicon Valley darling. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila delivered the sentence on Friday in federal court.
The disgraced founder was convicted of running a years-long fraud scheme at her blood-testing tech startup and found guilty on four of 11 charges. Because Holmes is currently pregnant with her second child, Judge Davila said she has until April 27, 2023, to turn herself in. She has 14 days to appeal her conviction.
Via Gateway Pundit:
Holmes claimed her breakthrough technology provided quick and reliable blood tests and only required a small amount of blood.
However, whistleblowers came forward and revealed the blood-testing technology didn’t actually exist.
Elizabeth Holmes is 38 years old and currently pregnant with her second child.
Via BBC News:
Over 130 friends, family and former Theranos employees wrote to the judge to appeal for clemency.
Among those pleading for a light sentence was 2020 presidential candidate and New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker, who wrote that Holmes could “despite mistakes, make the world a better place”.
The group noted that Holmes is a young mother. She had a son in July 2021 and is currently pregnant with her second child.
It is not known when she is due to give birth. Her lawyers are expected to try to keep her from entering prison until after the baby is born.
If she has to give birth in prison, there are two residential programmes offered by the federal department of prisons, according to the Mercury News.
However, neither is located in California. The facilities allow mothers to live with their babies in prison for up to 30 months.
Her partner Billy Evans, in his sentencing memo to the court, told the judge that he fears for “a future in which my son grows up with a relationship with his mother on the other side of glass armed by guards”.
Incarcerated parents are searched thoroughly before limited visits with their children that permit physical contact. Prisoners have to wait in long queues and pay steep fees to call family members over the phone.
The wife of Theranos’ former chief scientist, who died by suicide in 2013 after telling her that the technology did not work, continues to blame Holmes for his death.
Rochelle Gibbons, the widow of Ian Gibbons, said in January that she got “a little satisfaction” from Holmes’ conviction.
“Satisfaction in knowing she’s going to suffer because, believe me, I’ve suffered and Ian suffered,” she said.
