Holmes Goes To Prison During Appeal, Court Rules
Elizabeth Holmes has to go to prison now. She is appealing against her conviction for cheating investors in her blood-testing company called Theranos. She also has to pay $452m with someone else to the people she wronged. This decision was made by a court in San Francisco.
In 2022, Holmes was found guilty in court in California. She got a prison sentence of 11 years and three months. People knew her for saying that Theranos' machines can test with a small amount of blood only.
She wanted to delay her prison sentence and asked for help on 25 April from the ninth US circuit court of appeals. Unfortunately, the court didn't allow her to avoid jail and denied her bail application on Tuesday.
Holmes is going to leave her current home soon. She lives in San Diego. The judge will pick a new date for her to go to prison. She is 39 years old.
Judge Edward Davila ruled that Holmes is equally responsible for making restitution payments. She has to pay $452m along with her former partner and top employee Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani.
Balwani, who is 57 years old, is now in prison. He got almost 13 years in jail since he was found guilty of fraud and conspiracy last July. He tried to stay out of prison while appealing his conviction, but he was unsuccessful. He's now in a prison located in Southern California.
Holmes thought that Theranos could change healthcare using a technology that could detect many diseases with just a few blood drops.
Holmes got almost $1bn from investors like Larry Ellison and Rupert Murdoch, in her pursuit of her goal. But those investors lost their money after an investigation by the Wall Street Journal and regulatory reviews revealed serious problems with the technology used by Theranos.
Davila decided that Holmes and Balwani need to pay Murdoch $125m- a lot more than the other investors. Walgreens will receive $40m from the scammers too. Safeway gets $14.5m as well because they almost partnered with Theranos too.
The prosecutors wanted a big restitution penalty of around $800 million. Holmes and Balwani's lawyers argued in separate hearings that their clients should pay little or nothing. They tried to convince Davila.
Holmes and Balwani are almost broke after spending millions of dollars on legal fees. They have proclaimed their innocence. Their stakes in Theranos were once valued at $4.5bn and $500m, respectively.
Holmes' lawyers are trying to prove that there were errors and wrongdoing during her trial that led to her conviction.
They argued that mistakes and unfairness in the jury were so bad that she should not go to jail during the appeal. However, the ninth circuit court of appeals and Davila said no to their request.
This report was also contributed by Reuters and Associated Press.
