Elizabeth Holmes’ sensational story of fraud reached a new chapter on Tuesday when Holmes began her prison sentence. The 39-year-old was convicted last year of defrauding investors in her biotechnology company Theranos, which could not deliver on its promises. Holmes will spend 11 years behind bars.
Holmes was dropped off at the all-female Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas on Tuesday by her husband, Billy Evans, and her parents, according to a report by The Associated Press. She arrived at around 12:30 p.m. CT – slightly early for her mandatory 2 p.m. surrender time. A few distant photos show Holmes in glasses and a beige sweater, eyes downcast as she walked into the prison.
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Holmes’ story has made headlines for years and has been portrayed in books, TV, and movies several times already. Most notably, her story was covered in a podcast series called The Dropout, which was then adapted into a drama series for Hulu starring Amanda Seyfried as Holmes. That show premiered in March of 2022, shortly after Holmes was convicted and sentenced.
Holmes founded a tech company called Theranos in 2003 which promised to revolutionize blood testing by making various kinds of tests possible with only a tiny amount of blood. Holmes was an avid businesswoman and courted investors to raise a staggering amount of money based on her promises, convincing them that this seemingly impossible feat could be done. However, some medical professionals and former employees became more and more suspicious that Holmes would never be able to deliver a functional version of her “Edison blood test device.”
Theranos and Holmes were ultimately exposed in an extensive investigative report by John Carreyrou for The Wall Street Journal, which included input from former employees, whistleblowers, and other medical science experts. Holmes’ legal team tried to keep the article from being published but failed. As more and more problems came to light, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California finally indicted Holmes in June of 2018 on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They made the case that Holmes and her company had conspired to defraud investors as well as patients, which they denied.
Holmes’ case was delayed for numerous reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Holmes married Evans in 2019 – a wealthy hotel heir eight years younger than her – and they began having children. Holmes was even accused in court filings of conceiving a second child with Evans for the purpose of delaying her prison sentence, which she denied. In January of 2022, she was found guilty on four counts of defrauding investors but not guilty on four counts of defrauding patients.
Holmes remained free on $500,000 bail for much of last year and was finally sentenced in November of 2022. She was sentenced to 135 months in prison and was initially ordered to surrender in April of 2023. However, appeals pushed the start of her sentence back to Tuesday. Holmes could have faced a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and much more crippling fines, so overall she made out well all things considered. Fans can learn more about her story in books, podcasts, and TV shows available now.
