Elizabeth Holmes, who was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison after being convicted of fraud while heading the startup ” Theranos “, began her sentence last Tuesday in a Texas prison.
According to AFP, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has confirmed that the former Silicon Valley businesswoman has arrived at the federal prison in Bryan, Texas.
Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of fundraising fraud in January 2022 after a four-month trial. She had claimed that Theranos could revolutionize medical diagnostics.
Holmes filed multiple appeals in an effort to avoid serving time in prison and overturn her conviction, however, all of them were rejected.
At the age of 39, Holmes, who founded her own company two decades ago, is currently imprisoned in a women’s facility where she is under the supervision of minimum security guards.
The BOB website states that this particular prison features dormitories, a limited number of guards, and programs focused on rehabilitation.
Theranos claimed to have developed groundbreaking technology that could conduct multiple tests with a tiny amount of blood and provide faster and cheaper diagnostics than traditional labs. However, their technology was never effective, and the company shut down in 2018, leaving behind investors who had invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the company.
Elizabeth Holmes has consistently maintained that she acted in good faith and did not intend to deceive investors.
Former Theranos chief executive Elizabeth Holmes and former COO Ramesh Balwani were ordered by Judge Edward Davila in mid-May to return $452 million to investors, which includes media mogul Rupert Murdock. The former partners owed him $125 million.
Elizabeth Holmes, in an interview with The New York Times published in early May, stated that she was unable to pay the court fees even before being ordered to pay damages. The prosecution had estimated the fees to be over $30 million. She mentioned that she would have to work for the rest of her life to pay them back.
In 2019, Holmes married Billy Evans, whose family owns a chain of hotels, according to reports from the press. Holmes is also a mother of two young children.
Forbes magazine estimated Holmes’ wealth to be $4.5 billion in 2014. They also described her as the youngest self-made billionaire who earned her fortune and did not inherit it.
