Former Theranos CEO and convicted fraud Elizabeth Holmes is expected to go to prison on April 27 for a sentence of more than 11 years.
After Holmes was found guilty on four fraud counts last year, her lawyers have made numerous attempts to delay her incarceration, like petitioning for a new trial. Now Judge Edward Davila, who presided over her high-profile case, has denied her request to stay out of prison on bail.
Davila wrote that Holmes is not a flight risk or a threat to her community, however, the court has not found substantial reason to keep her out of prison.
Holmes is expected to appeal this ruling to the 9th Circuit Court, but it’s unlikely her appeal will succeed. The 9th Circuit rejected a similar appeal from former Theranos COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who was found guilty on 12 counts of fraud.
Once a hot-shot Silicon Valley startup worth more than $9 billion, Theranos vowed to revolutionize the medical field by making blood testing more accessible. In a now-infamous pitch, Theranos claimed that with just one drop of blood, it could conduct dozens of blood tests, rendering intravenous blood draws moot. But despite Theranos’ massive valuation and high-profile board members, its technology never worked. Now, its disgraced chief officers are preparing for prison.