Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes asks court to remain free until appeal ruling

Pregnant Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes has asked a court to allow her to remain free until there is a decision in her appeal against her conviction and 11-year prison sentence. 

Holmes, 38, was sentenced in November after being convicted at trial of defrauding investors. She is appealing the conviction and sentence in the U.S. Court of Appeals, seeking a new trial and citing 10 reasons why her request should be granted, Mercury News reported.

In her bid to remain free, Holmes’ legal team said in a court filing – filed last week in the US District Court in San Jose – that she was found guilty only on charges of defrauding investors, not on the charges of defrauding patients.   

Holmes, who is a mother of one, is pregnant with her second child and is due to give birth before she is set start serving her prison sentence on April 27.  

Elizabeth Holmes has asked a court to allow her to remain free until a ruling is reached in her appeal against her conviction and 11-year prison sentence

Holmes, pictured arriving at court for her sentencing in November, is pregnant with her second child. She is due to report to prison on April 27

In the filing, Holmes’ lawyers said: ‘This was a complex, hard-fought, multi-month trial with numerous witnesses and hundreds of exhibits that produced a split verdict. The record is teeming with issues for appeal.’ 

Holmes’ filing also claimed errors were made by the the judge, which included permitting the jury to hear about regulatory action against Theranos, and the company’s voiding of all test results from its ‘Edison’ machines, the news outlet reported. 

Her filing also disputes those events that took place after she made any ‘relevant’ statements to investors. 

She further claimed the judge should have granted her September motion for a new trial based on a key witness for the prosecution – former Theranos lab director Adam Rosendorff – visiting her home over the summer where he allegedly told her partner Billy Evans he regretted the role he played in her conviction, ABC News reported.

Steven Clark, a former Santa Clara prosecutor, believes Holmes made a strong argument for trying to remain free during her appeal.

Part of his reasoning, he cited, in part, was based on the ground that she is not a threat to public safety and will likely not flee, adding that ‘everyone knows who she is’ so there is ‘no place for Ms. Holmes to hide,’ SiliconValley.com reported.

Clark countered that prosecutors may argue that the latest move may be her way to delay her prison sentence, and instead may need to start to take accountability for her actions.

During the November 18 sentencing, US District Court in San Jose, US Federal judge Edward Davila ordered Holmes to 11.25 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered her to surrender April 27, 2023.

Holmes, pictured at court in September as she made a failed bid for a new trial, has been given  adequate time to deliver the baby before her prison sentence begins

At Theranos’ height the startup was valued at $9 billion, based on Holmes’ false claims that her technology could conduct a full range of tests using a few drops of blood. A series of Wall Street Journal exposés led to federal charges and the company’s 2018 demise

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Though Holmes has not revealed the due date of her second child, the court reportedly granted Holmes adequate time to deliver the baby before her prison sentence begins, despite her lawyer’s asking for leniency, reports say. 

On July 10, 2021 Holmes gave birth to her first child, a boy named William, with partner hotel heir Billy Evans, who reportedly started dating the con-artist following the collapse of her empire.

The former biotechnology entrepreneur and Stanford University dropout launched the Palo-Alto blood testing company Theranos when she was 19. 

Holmes, whose baritone-voice and signature black turtlenecks, a homage to the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, claimed that Theranos would revolutionize the blood testing industry with just a prick of a finger. 

At its peak, the startup was valued at $9 billion, based on Holmes’ false claims that her technology could conduct a full range of tests using a few drops of blood. 

The company collapsed after a series of Wall Street Journal exposés, which led to federal charges.

Her claim to fame was to revolutionize the blood testing industry with just a prick of a finger, using only small amounts of blood

Holmes’ baritone-voice and signature black turtlenecks were a homage to the late Apple founder Steve Jobs

During her sentencing in November, Holmes sobbed in court as she addressed the judge and told him she felt ‘deep shame’.

‘I stand before you taking responsibility for Theranos. I loved Theranos. It was my life’s work. 

‘There are so many things I would do differently if I had the chance. I tried to realize my dream too quickly.’

She added, ‘Yesterday I tried to change the world. Today, I’m wise, and want to change myself.’ 

Judge Davilla called the case ‘so troubling on so many levels’.

‘There’s no question that Ms. Holmes is bright. Was there a loss of a moral compass here?’ The tragedy of this case is Ms. Holmes is brilliant.’

‘Failure is normal. But failure by fraud is not OK. What is the pathology of fraud? Is it the inability to accept responsibility? Perhaps that the cautionary tale to come from this case.’