Elizabeth Holmes has lost her bid to remain a free woman!
A federal judge denied the mother-of-two’s plea for release following her appeal for fraud and conspiracy conviction. As a result, the former Theranos CEO is expected to report to prison to begin her decade-long sentence later this month. Her shocking rise and fall from billionaire to being on the brink of jail has inspired many podcasts, documentaries, and TV dramas, including “The Dropout.”
Elizabeth Holmes To Start 11-Year Jail Term After Federal Judge Denied Her Appeal
Time seems to have stopped for Holmes, who was found guilty of three counts of investor fraud and a count of conspiracy by a Californian jury in November 2022. Since she was sentenced to an 11-year jail term, her attorneys have attempted to convince an appeals court that alleged misconduct during her trial, which lasted for four months, led to an unjust verdict.
However, the appeal was thrown out by United States District Judge Edward Davila, who claimed that there was insufficient proof that the former biotechnology entrepreneur could remain free during the appeal process.
According to PEOPLE, Davila said even though the Stanford University dropout was “not likely to flee” or endanger the public if she stayed out of prison, her conviction would most likely not be overturned. The federal judge’s decision means that Holmes must surrender herself to authorities on April 27 to commence her sentence.
This new obstacle comes less than three months after The Blast reported that she was considered a flight risk after she booked a one-way trip to Mexico. The embattled CEO was hit with the lawsuit seeking to move the date that her jail term would begin closer than its April date.
The suit, which also accused the mother-of-two of still living lavishly, was countered by her lawyers, who maintained that she had purchased the flight ticket long before she was found guilty.
In fact, it was asserted that Holmes planned to travel to the Spanish region to partake in a friend’s wedding. In an attempt to deny the prosecution’s claims, one member of her legal team had written:
“Given the verdict, she does not plan to take the trip and therefore did not provide notice, seek permission, or request access to her passport (which the government has) for the trip.”
In response, prosecutors argued that they anticipated that the convicted fraudster would present an explanation for purchasing the one-way ticket. They admitted that they could not confirm if she would have fled if the government had not interfered by halting her plans.
In case you missed it, Holmes’ decline and legal troubles began soon after several journalistic and regulatory investigations uncovered patterns that did not ring true about Theranos’ technology claims in 2015.
A Wall Street Journal investigation elaborated at the time that the company had deceived investors with its assertions that it had developed technology that allowed for a few drops of blood to be used to test a range of conditions. Holmes was subsequently indicted in 2018.
Holmes Asked For A Later Date For Her Trial To Begin
Last November, The Blast noted that the blonde beauty was pregnant with her second child during her trial, which began in mid-2021. As such, her legal team asked the court to delay her starting her jail term to focus on bonding with the tot.
This pregnancy is separated from the child the 39-year-old welcomed with her partner Billy Evans just before her trial began. The couple informed the court of the pregnancy in March 2022 after her counsel, and prosecutors filed court documents.
The papers, which appealed that the trial should start later than its scheduled date in July, read, “The parties have met and conferred, and both parties agree that, in light of this development, it is not feasible to begin the trial on July 13, 2021, as currently scheduled.”
It also detailed, “In light of Defendant’s pregnancy, the parties stipulate and agree, and respectfully request that the Court order that the trial begins with jury selection on August 31, 2021.”
Per birth records, the couple welcomed their baby, a son named William Holmes Evans, in Redwood City, California, on July 10.
