"Silicon Valley Scam" Theranos Former CEO to Be Incarcerated at the End of This Month

by Cho Seulkina

Published 12 Apr.2023 04:09(KST)

Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos who was convicted of orchestrating the largest fraud in Silicon Valley history, is expected to be incarcerated as scheduled, possibly by the end of this month.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others, on the 11th (local time), Judge Edward Davila of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose denied Holmes' request to remain out of custody while appealing her case. Judge Davila explained the reason for the denial, stating, "The court did not find that the verdict is likely to be overturned or that a new trial will be granted on appeal, as the defendant claimed."

Holmes, who deceived investors by claiming that hundreds of diseases could be diagnosed with just a drop or two of blood and embezzled large sums of money, was previously found guilty in January last year on three counts of fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. In November of the same year, she was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison. At that time, the court announced April 27 as the date for incarceration, but Holmes appealed the first trial verdict and requested to be allowed to remain out of custody during the appeal trial.

With the denial of this request, Holmes is expected to be incarcerated in a Texas prison on the 27th. However, she can still appeal the denial of her request to remain out of custody.

The prosecution opposed the request for a trial out of custody, citing that Holmes booked a flight to Mexico just weeks after the first trial verdict, allegedly to attend a wedding, indicating a flight risk. In the ruling, Judge Davila pointed out, "It is a bold act for a criminal defendant to plan overseas travel while expecting to win the trial," and added, "The failure to cancel the trip immediately after the guilty verdict was recklessly negligent to a dangerous degree."