Elizabeth Holmes, Founder of Theranos, Set to Begin Prison Sentence by End of April

(image credit: bbc.com)

Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the now-defunct blood testing start-up Theranos, will soon report to prison after losing her bid to remain free while appealing against her convictions. Holmes was sentenced to over 11 years in prison for defrauding investors in her company. US District Judge Edward Davila denied her request to remain free, stating that she had not proven her appeals process would result in a new trial. Holmes is scheduled to go to prison on 27 April.

Holmes had argued that she would raise "substantial questions" that could warrant a new trial, but the judge disagreed. He stated that her misrepresentations to investors involved more than just whether the company's technology worked as promised. Holmes' attorneys also argued that she should remain free to care for her two young children, including one born this year. However, Judge Davila did not find this argument convincing.

Prosecutors had argued that Holmes was a flight risk because she had booked a one-way plane ticket to Mexico during her trial. Holmes' attorneys claimed that she and her partner Billy Evans were planning to attend a wedding and hoped she would be acquitted. Although the judge noted that the ticket purchase was "ill-advised," he did not consider it an attempt to flee.

Once hailed as the "next Steve Jobs" and said to be the world's youngest self-made billionaire, Holmes launched Theranos after dropping out of Stanford University. However, the company fell apart in 2018 after it was revealed that its technology did not work as advertised. The blood-testing device was purported to be able to run a multitude of tests from just a few drops of blood. Holmes was found guilty of four counts of fraud last January and is expected to make one more bid to remain free during the appeals process, which could take at least a year.

Holmes' former business partner, Sunny Balwani, was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for fraud last year. The downfall of Theranos has been chronicled in a TV series, an HBO documentary, and a podcast. The BBC has reached out to Holmes' attorneys for comment.