Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes (L), shown in 2015 with Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma, is expected to surrender Tuesday at a minimum-security federal lockup in Bryan, Texas, on fraud and conspiracy charges. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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May 30 (UPI) -- Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of the failed blood-testing startup Theranos, will report to prison Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence for defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars in a scheme that propagated a phony medical device.
The 39-year-old former tech billionaire is expected to surrender before 3 p.m. EDT at a minimum-security federal lockup in Bryan, Texas, where U.S. District Judge Edward Davila ordered her to report following her November conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges.
Holmes' incarceration was delayed earlier this month as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit denied her request to stay out of prison as the appeals process played out.
Defense lawyers argued that Holmes should be allowed to remain free as she sought a new trial based on alleged wrongdoing by the judge and prosecutors. But the court found Holmes had failed to prove a "substantial question of law or fact" that was "likely to result in a reversal or an order for a new trial on all counts."
Davila postponed the original April 27 sentence start date to allow the defendant extra time to arrange care for her two young children, one of whom was born in March.
U.S. law requires Holmes to serve at least 85% of the sentence, even if she gets credit for good behavior.
Federal Prison Camp, where Holmes will be held, is known for holding non-violent female white-collar criminals and is notably where reality TV star Jen Shah of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" is serving a six-and-a-half year sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The prison allows family visitations.
Holmes was found guilty of making false and misleading statements to investors about developing a revolutionary device that could run extensive blood tests with only a finger-prick sample.
Her former romantic partner, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who served as president of Holmes' company, was sentenced in December to nearly 13 years in federal prison for his role in the scheme that ensnared numerous giants of American business, including the owners of Walmart, Walgreens and Safeway, the family of former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who invested $125 million in Theranos.
The judge ordered Holmes and Balwani to pay $452 million in restitution for their crimes.
