A jury found Elizabeth Holmes guilty of fraud
Theranos founder Elizabeth Homes was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for defrauding investors of a blood-testing startup.
Holmes, who plans to appeal, will not have to report for the 135-month sentence until April 2023, the judge said during the hearing.
“I am devastated by my failures,” Holmes, who was heavily pregnant, said in a tearful apology in the courtroom.
“I felt deep pain for what people were going through because I failed them.”
Prosecutors asked Judge Edward Davila to sentence Holmes to 15 years in prison and pay $800 million in restitution for his 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 pleaded guilty in January to three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Judge Davila said he will schedule a restitution hearing at a later date to determine how much Holmes must repay.
Who is Elizabeth Holmes?
But for many of his defenders and detractors, Friday’s verdict is unlikely to end the debate over whether Holmes is a well-intentioned humanitarian in over his head or a turtle-sweatered charlatan who chose “deception over candor.”
The Department of Justice left no doubt about the criminal intent of the 38-year-old. One a terrifying 46-page sentencing letterAssistant U.S. Attorney Robert Leach described the Theranos explosion as one of the “most significant white-collar crimes Silicon Valley or any other region has ever seen.”
Leach wrote that the Theranos founder “snapped his investors’ hopes that a young, dynamic entrepreneur was transforming healthcare.”
Meanwhile, Holmes’ legal team sought to portray her as a devoted mother, daughter and friend who sought to help countless others through her generosity and faith.
of The Independent Bevan Hurley explores who Holmes really is:
Megan SheetsNovember 19, 2022 2:15 p.m
Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, was sentenced to 11 years in prison
Judge Edward Davila told the heavily pregnant former Theranos executive: “Failure is normal. But it’s not good to fail by cheating.”
Bevan HurleyNovember 19, 2022 at 1:00 p.m
Holmes acknowledged responsibility for Theranos’ failure in a tearful courtroom apology
“I was disappointed by my failures. “I feel deep pain for what people are going through because I failed them,” Elizabeth Holmes told the judge through tears.
Holmes took responsibility for the Theranos failure for the first time.
Elizabeth Holmes speaks on stage during the closing session of the Clinton Global Initiative 2015
(Getty)
Bevan HurleyNovember 19, 2022 at 12:00 p.m
The impostor’s statement about his father’s devastating sacrifice
A Theranos whistleblower, Tyler’s father Alex Schultz, read a victim impact statement to say Holmes took a “wrecking ball” to his family.
She looked straight at Elizabeth Holmes and said she feared for her life after Tyler hired private investigators to intervene in her life.
“Every night my son slept with a knife under his pillow, thinking that someone would come and kill him.”
Mr. Shultz is the son of former Secretary of State George Shultz, who was an early backer of Theranos.
Bevan HurleyNovember 19, 2022 at 11:00 a.m
Selfless visionary or trickster?
But for many of his defenders and detractors, Friday’s verdict is unlikely to end the debate over whether Holmes is a well-intentioned humanitarian in over his head or a turtle-sweatered charlatan who chose “deception over candor.”
Bevan HurleyNovember 19, 2022 at 10:00 a.m
Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, was sentenced to 11 years in prison
Judge Edward Davila told the heavily pregnant former Theranos executive: “Failure is normal. But it’s not good to fail by cheating.”
Bevan HurleyNovember 19, 2022 at 09:00
The tragedy, says the judge, is that Holmes is “brilliant”.
Judge Edward Davila called the case “very disturbing on many levels” before sentencing Holmes to 11 years and three months in prison.
“The tragedy of this case is that Ms. Holmes is brilliant, she had creative ideas. He is a big thinker. She was moving into an industry dominated by the male ego. He entered this world.”
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes (C) arrives in federal court with her partner Billy Evans (R) and her mother Noel Holmes on November 18, 2022 in San Jose, California
(Getty Images)
Bevan HurleyNovember 19, 2022 at 08:00
Elizabeth Holmes exits the courthouse through a side entrance, bypassing the media
After the verdict, Elizabeth Holmes walked out a side entrance with dozens of cameras trained on the main entrance of the federal courthouse in San Jose.
He will have to report to corrections officials in April to begin his 11-year sentence.
(EPA)
Bevan HurleyNovember 19, 2022 at 07:00
A Wall Street Journal reporter comments on Holmes’ verdict
John Carreyrou, in his report The Wall Street Journal Theranos’ problems, Holmes went to court to get the punishment.
Comments outside the courthouse bad blood the author said the sentence was “harsh” but appropriate given the risk Holmes put patients at.
Bevan HurleyNovember 19, 2022 at 06:00
Selfless visionary or trickster?
But for many of his defenders and detractors, Friday’s verdict is unlikely to end the debate over whether Holmes was a well-intentioned humanitarian in over his head or a turtleneck-wearing charlatan who chose “deception over candor.”
Bevan HurleyNovember 19, 2022 at 05:00
