A U.S. judge has denied Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ request to remain free on bail while she appeals her conviction on charges of defrauding investors in the failed blood-testing startup that was once valued at $9 billion.
She will instead report to prison on April 27, as previously scheduled.Â
Holmes, who rose to fame after claiming Theranos’ small machines could run an array of diagnostic tests with just a few drops of blood, was convicted at trial in San Jose, California last year.
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila sentenced Holmes to 11 years and three months in prison in November. Holmes asked Davila to postpone the sentence while the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reviews her case.
Davila on Monday concluded that even if Holmes won her appeal to challenge the Theranos technology evidence, it wouldn’t result in a reversal or a new trial of all the counts she was found guilty of.
Holmes is the mother of two children, and gave birth to her second child earlier this year.Â
A U.S. judge has denied Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ request to remain free on bail while she appeals her conviction on charges of defrauding investors in the failed blood-testing startup that was once valued at $9 billion. Holmes, pictured in October last year, was pregnant when she was sentenced
Holmes and Evans appear outside of court during her most recent hearing
‘Contrary to her suggestion that accuracy and reliability were central issues to her convictions, Ms. Holmes´s misrepresentations to Theranos investors involved more than just whether Theranos technology worked as promised,’ he said.
Holmes, who is scheduled to begin serving her sentence in April, may ask the 9th Circuit to grant bail.
In denying the release appeal, Davila noted that Holmes was unlikely to flee or endanger the community.
Davila previously recommended that Holmes serve her sentence at a minimum security prison camp in Texas.
The prison – Camp Bryan – is about 100 miles north of Houston, where Holmes attended high school. It is designated for female inmates and currently houses about 540 inmates.
Those serving time at the facility are allowed to accept multiple visitors on weekends.Â
According to the Wall Street Journal, the facility bares similarities to the one in West Virginia where Martha Stewart served time close to 20 years ago – the same one where former NXIVM president Nancy Salzman is now serving her three-and-a-half year sentence.
Holmes will have access to tennis courts and a running track. But, she will be forced to give up her signature all-black look in exchange for pastel green, gray and white outfits.
Distance may make visitation hard for Holmes’ family, whom she would be much closer to were she sent to the minimum-security prison in Dublin, California, which is just an hour drive outside of San Francisco. Actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, who were involved in the college admissions scandal, both served their short sentences ay the Dublin facility.
Federal prosecutors have also said that Holmes could receive close to a 15% reduction on prison time with good behavior, which would put her sentence at closer to 9.5 years with no possibility for parole.Â
Holmes’ defense team previously argued that she is the ‘mother of two young children.’ She gave birth to her first son in July 2021. They are pictured here with her fiancé Billy EvansÂ
The minimum-security women’s prison in Bryan, Texas where a California judge has recommended Elizabeth Holmes serve her 11.25 years behind bars
Holmes has been dating Evans since shortly after the demise of Theranos. He has stuck by her side throughout her trial and conviction and the pair now share two children
The Theranos founder has appeared unbothered by her predicament for years
The pair have appeared ever in love and inseparable throughout Holmes’ various legal woes
Prosecutors said during the trial that Holmes misrepresented Theranos’ technology and finances. Holmes testified in her own defense, saying she believed her statements were accurate at the time.Â
On appeal, Holmes plans to challenge several of the judge’s rulings, including his allowance of evidence about Theranos’ test accuracy that postdated her statements to investors.
Holmes’ co-defendant, former Theranos President Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani, was convicted of defrauding Theranos investors and patients at a separate trial and sentenced to 12 years and 11 months in prison.
In March, Davila denied Balwani’s request to remain free on bail during his appeal. The 9th Circuit also ruled that Balwani’s sentence should not be postponed while it considers his case.
Last January, Holmes, 39, was convicted by a jury of four counts of criminal fraud for deceiving investors during her years long scheme to peddle bad blood testing technology at Theranos.
Following her conviction, Holmes became pregnant with her second child.
