Elizabeth Holmes was once on top of the world. In 2003, at just 19 years old, she dropped out of Stanford University to create her own company, Theranos, which claimed to be able to run a myriad of medical tests on just a single drop of blood. By 2014, she had raised more than $400 million in venture capital to fund her company and was a Silicon Valley media darling, hobnobbing with powerful figures.
It all came crashing down in 2015, when a Wall Street Journal article exposed her and her company's lies. In 2022, she was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 11 years in prison. On May 17, 2023, her petition to stay out of jail while working to appeal was denied. She was also ordered to pay $452 million in restitution.
Holmes is not the only one who is being held liable for the $452 million. Her ex-boyfriend Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani is also on the hook. He was her right-hand man in the company.
Holmes was originally ordered to report to prison on April 27 of this year but petitioned to reduce her sentence and remain out while she appealed. Her legal team claims to have been prevented from presenting important information. This request was denied, and US District Judge Edward Davila will come up with a new date for her to report.
More from LittleThings: Sources Say 'Catch Me If You Can' Inspiration Frank Abagnale Jr. Has Lied About It All
Holmes is currently residing in San Diego, California. She is in a relationship with William “Billy” Evans, with whom she shares two children. Her son, William, is 1 year old, and daughter Invicta is 3 months old.
Judge Davila has recommended that Holmes serve her time in a women’s prison in Bryan, Texas. It is not known at this time if the Federal Bureau of Prisons has agreed to this. Time will tell.
Balwani already began his prison sentence in April of this year. He is serving 13 years in a Southern California facility. He attempted to remain free while working on an appeal as well.
In January 2022, Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of three charges of wire fraud and one conspiracy charge for deceiving her investors. Her original indictment was for 11 charges — four were dismissed and three resulted in a hung jury. The prosecution wanted her to serve 15 years, but her legal team argued for leniency.
When working at Theranos, Holmes was able to get money from high-profile and powerful investors such as Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison. She and Balwani are ordered to pay Murdoch back the most, $125 million. He was a substantial investor in the company early on.
Walgreens is set to receive $40 million, as it was another investor. The drugstore chain even offered some of the Theranos blood-testing machines in its stores without the knowledge that they were faulty. Safeway is owed $14.5 million; the grocery brand eventually backed out of its deal with Theranos.
