Elizabeth Holmes sentencing: Theranos founder to face restitution hearing after being jailed for 11 years
Prosecutors are demanding that Holmes be given 15 years in prison
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Theranos founder Elizabeth Homes has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for defrauding investors of the blood-testing startup.
Holmes, who plans on appealing, will not have to report for her 135-month prison sentence until April 2023, the judge announced during the hearing.
“I am devastated by my failings,” a heavily-pregnant Holmes said in a tearful courtroom apology.
“I have felt deep pain for what people went through, because I failed them.”
Prosecutors had asked Judge Edward Davila to sentence Holmes to 15 years in prison and that she pay $800m in restitution for her role in the company’s fraudulent claims.
Holmes’ lawyers cast her as a scapegoat who overcame a toxic relationship with Theranos COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani to become a loving mother.
Holmes was convicted in January of three felony counts of wire fraud and one felony count of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Judge Davila said he would schedule a restitution hearing to determine how much Holmes must repay at a later date.
Selfless visionary or scheming grifter?
In a climactic end to a stunning fall from grace for the one-time golden child of Silicon Valley, Elizabeth Holmes has been sentenced to 11 years and three months for cheating investors of her blood-testing start-up Theranos.
But for her many advocates and detractors, Friday’s sentence is unlikely to end the debate around whether Holmes was a well-intentioned humanitarian who got in over her head, or a charlatan in a turtleneck sweater who chose “deceit over candour”.
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes sentenced to 11 years in prison
From college dropout at 19 to billionaire at 30 and convicted fraudster at 37, Elizabeth Holmes has had a a life trajectory unlike any of her Silicon Valley peers. Her tainted legacy will continue to be fought over for years to come, Bevan Hurley writes
Devastating victim impact statement from whistleblower’s father
Alex Schultz, the father of Theranos whistleblower Tyler, read a victim impact statement to say that Holmes had taken a “wrecking ball” to his family.
He looked directly at Elizabeth Holmes as he said Tyler had feared for his life after she hired private investigators to pry into his life.
“My son slept with a knife under his pillow every night thinking somebody was going to come and murder him.”
Mr Schultz is the son of former secretary of state George Schultz, who was an early Theranos backer.
Holmes admits responsibility for Theranos failure in tearful courtroom apology
“I am devastated by my failings. I have felt deep pain for what people went through, because I failed them,” Elizabeth Holmes told the judge through tears.
It was the first time Holmes had taken responsibility for the Theranos failure.
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes sentenced to 11 years in prison
Judge Edward Davila told the heavily pregnant former Theranos boss: ‘Failure is normal. But failure by fraud is not OK.’
Read on for full story.
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes sentenced to 11 years in prison
Judge Edward Davila told the heavily pregnant former Theranos boss: ‘Failure is normal. But failure by fraud is not OK’
Who is Elizabeth Holmes?
In a climactic end to a stunning fall from grace for the one-time golden child of Silicon Valley, Elizabeth Holmes has been sentenced to 11 years and three months for cheating investors of her blood-testing start-up Theranos.
But for her many advocates and detractors, Friday’s sentence is unlikely to end the debate around whether Holmes was a well-intentioned humanitarian who got in over her head, or a charlatan in a turtleneck sweater who chose “deceit over candour”.
The Department of Justice left no doubt about the 38-year-old’s criminal intent. In a scathing 46-page sentencing memo, assistant US attorney Robert Leach described Theranos’ implosion as one of the most “substantial white collar offences Silicon Valley or any other district has seen”.
Leach wrote that the Theranos founder “preyed on hopes of her investors that a young, dynamic entrepreneur had changed healthcare”.
Meanwhile, Holmes’ legal team tried to portray her as a devoted mother, daughter and friend who tried to help countless others through her generosity and faith.
The Independent’s Bevan Hurley explores who Holmes really is:
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes sentenced to 11 years in prison
From college dropout at 19 to billionaire at 30 and convicted fraudster at 37, Elizabeth Holmes has had a life trajectory unlike any of her Silicon Valley peers. Her tainted legacy will continue to be fought over for years to come, Bevan Hurley writes
Will Silicon Valley learn anything from Holmes’s conviction?
The fraud conviction of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes could offer Silicon Valley s culture of hubris and hype some valuable lessons.
Will anyone in the tech industry actually take this moment to heart? Don’t count on it.
What will Silicon Valley learn from Holmes' conviction?
The fraud conviction of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes could offer Silicon Valley some valuable lessons about the dangers of hype and hiding problems
Elizabeth Holmes scandal explained
Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of defrauding investors in her former blood-testing startup company, Theranos, concluding a trial that gripped both Silicon Valley and the international media outlets which initially helped propel her to stardom.
An attempt at requesting a new trial faltered — she claimed that one of the key witnesses acknowledged regrets about the proceedings, however, he stood by his testimony.
Holmes was ultimately sentenced on 18 November to 135 months - over 11 years - in prison. Currently heavily pregnant, Holmes is set to begin the sentence in April 2023.
How did she get into this position? And how did the legal proceedings — described by some as “Silicon Valley’s trial of the century” — unfold?
The Independent explains:
Who is Elizabeth Holmes? Everything you need to know about the Theranos founder
Elizabeth Holmes net worth, age and everything you need to know
RECAP: Holmes sentencing hearing
Elizabeth Holmes was finally sentenced to 135 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on 18 November.
A tearful Holmes, who is heavily pregnant with her second child, hugged her husband Billy Evans after the sentence was read out.
Earlier, she apologised for her role in the collapse of the Silicon Valley firm – the first time she has admitted responsibility.
“I am devastated by my failings. I have felt deep pain for what people went through, because I failed them,” Holmes said.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence the 38-year-old to 15 years in prison and to pay $800m in restitution for defrauding investors.
Her lawyers argued that Holmes deserves more lenient treatment as a well-meaning entrepreneur who is now a devoted mother with another child on the way.
Judge Edward Davila described the case as “so troubling on so many levels”.
“The tragedy of this case is Ms Holmes is brilliant, she had creative ideas. She’s a big thinker.
“She was moving into an industry that was dominated by, let’s face it, male ego,” Judge Davila told the court, according to Mercury News reporter Ethan Baron. “Failure is normal. But failure by fraud is not OK.”
He ordered Holmes to surrender to corrections officials in April — after she has given birth to her second child.
Holmes’ husband’s moving pre-trial testimonial: ‘Her capacity to change the world is limitless'
Elizabeth Holmes’ husband Billy Evans defended her in a glowing pre-trial testomonial.
In a letter stretching 12 pages punctuated by headings such as “dreams, possibilities, lessons” and “our greatest fears”, Mr Evans writes of falling instantly in love with “Liz” after they met at a charity event in 2017.
“Her capacity to change the world is limitless,” Evans wrote, including dozens of photos of the happy couple.
Evans told how his wife of three years had competed in a Golden Gate Bridge ocean swim event in 2021 while pregnant with their first son.
“There were fifty reasons I thought it was a bad idea, the sharks, the tides, her complete inexperience swimming post age 14,” he wrote.
She eventually made the cut for the race and took part. “You would think by now I would learn to not discount her perseverance,” Evans wrote.
In one passage titled “the price we will always pay”, Evans tells a story about Holmes searching for 16 hours “in brambles and poison oak” after her husky Balto was apparently carried away by a mountain lion from their front porch.
“It was only once she saw his lifeless body that she could come to realise that he was gone,” Evans writes.
“But that’s Liz for you, she’s constantly hoping and working towards the best outcome, even if it is unlikely.”
Rosy portrayal of Holmes in more than 140 character references
Going into the sentencing, Elizabeth Holmes’ legal team tried to portray her as a devoted mother, daughter and friend who tried to help countless others through her generosity and faith.
In more than 140 character references submitted to Judge Edward Davila from her family, friends, a US Senator, a former US ambassador to Australia, a retired Navy rear admiral, a professor of medicine, a police sergeant and government officials, Holmes came across as an almost saintly figure who had dedicated her life to the service of others.
Many pointed the finger at the “malignant eye of the media” for unfairly demonising her.
“Now we have a horrifying situation,” billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper wrote.
“A potentially great entrepreneur with extraordinary vision is being condemned by society for taking that enormous risk, sacrificing everything and failing, by not properly communicating her side of the story to the public.”
Other true believers insisted her patented blood testing technology could still be used to transform healthcare, as Holmes had envisaged.