Time's up: Elizabeth Holmes to start 11-year prison sentence April 27th ~2~

 

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Time's up: Elizabeth Holmes to start 11-year prison sentence April 27th  ~2~

 

Story by Zeleb.es • 23.04.17 11:00 am

 

 

 

Elizabeth Holmes was thriving in the spotlight...

But while the 'Edison' was failing to function, Holmes and her company were just hitting their stride. Theranos had secured a $350 million dollar contract from Safeway in 2013 and a partnership to offer in-store blood tests in Walgreens drugstores.

 

 

 

...and rubbing elbows with the uber-rich!

Also during this time, Holmes had been able to sweep many powerful and wealthy investors off their feet with her visionary charm. And the support of these wealthy and famous names, such as American billionaire Rupert Murdoch, furthered her unsubstantiated credibility.

 

 

Joe Biden even found her "inspiring"

Even Joe Biden made a visit to a Theranos lab in 2015, calling it "inspiring." However, according to Wall Street Journalist Carreyrou, Holmes and Balwani set up a fake lab for Biden's visit of their facilities.

 

 

 

But she was using 3rd-party machines in her Theranos labs

While Theranos had been giving out some unreliable test results from the ‘Edison’ to patients, most of the actual blood analysis were secretly performed on 3rd party machines, owned by Siemens, that were brought into the Theranos labs. These machines were not able to run the tests with small blood samples.

 

 

Theranos was bypassing federal regulations

But how was the 'Edison' approved by the government for use, you ask? Theranos took advantage of a legal loophole in the FDA regulation of medical devices. As explained by www.theconversation.com, Theranos labeled their nanotainer device as laboratory-developed, which per its guidelines doesn't require pre-market review or evaluation by the FDA or its regulators.

 

 

Holmes was defrauding her investors

And those corporations and savvy investors, what about them? In her contracts, Holmes required complete secrecy due to the groundbreaking advances being made by Theranos. Therefore, the company was run in complete stealth mode for proprietary purposes, a decision not many questioned. Until...

 

 

Two brave employees finally blew the whistle

Two employees of Theranos felt very uncomfortable with the way test results were being handled and the secrecy and inaccessibility of the 'Edison' machine. Tyler Schultz and Erika Cheung became the main whistleblowers to Theranos' fraudulent behavior.

 

 

One investigative journalist outed the drama

In 2015, investigative journalist John Carreyrou at the Wall Street Journal published an article exposing the use of the Siemens' machines in the Theranos labs and questioning the validity of the 'Edison' test results.

 

 

Holmes tried to salvage herself and her business

After the article was published, Holmes appeared on CNBC's "Mad Money" to defend herself and Theranos. "This is what happens when you work to change things, and first they think you're crazy, then they fight you, and then all of a sudden you change the world," she said.

 

 

It was too little too late

Unfortunately for Holmes, Carreyrou's article had done its damage, and what followed was a rapid domino effect of canceled partnerships, regulatory and governemental challenges, investor callbacks, and FDA investigations. Holmes' (and Theranos') fall from grace had begun.

 

 

 

Theranos, once a hope for the future, closed for good

In 2018, Theranos, the company that had raised over $700 million dollars from investors and had once been valued at close to $10 billion dollars, closed its doors.

 

 

Holmes and Balwani were arrested on criminal charges

In 2018, Holmes, along with her co-founder Balwani, were arrested on criminal charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, knowingly misleading patients, and defrauding investors.

 

 

Holmes is currently a partner, a mother and pregnant with her second child

Elizabeth was given bail after her arrest, living in a mansion in California after her conviction with her partner William Billy Evans, 27, heir to the Evans Hotel Group. The couple has a son, born in July 2021. She gave birth to their second child in early 2023.

 

 

She is now convicted of several criminal charges

Holmes' trial lasted four months, ending in a mixed conviction by the jury of her peers. They found her guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud investors and three counts of wire fraud. They found her not guilty on four other counts and failed to reach a verdict on the remaining three counts.

 

 

She has been sentenced to more than 11 years in a federal prison

Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison with 3 years of supervised release.

 

 

 

She apologized for her failures

"I stand before you taking responsibility for Theranos. I loved Theranos, it was my life's work," Holmes said through tears at the hearing. "I am so, so sorry. I gave everything I had to building and trying to save our company."

 

But many see her biggest failure is her lack of accountability

But prosecutors in her case vehemently disagreed with Holmes and her apology, stating at her trial that:"She accepts no responsibility. Quite the opposite, she insists she is the victim."

 

 

 

And her investors, well they really lost big time

And for her investors, such as Rupert Murdoch, the American tycoon? Well, he invested $125 million of his money in Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes, becoming one of their largest investors. In 2017, he sold his stake for $1.

 

 

Holmes was given great leniency in her sentencing

Holmes's sentence start was delayed for the birth of her second child, a leniency many consider beyond privileged. Countless other women, outside of her wealth and social status, are not afforded this precious family time and must birth their children while incarcerated.

 

 

 

Want to know more?

Do you want more about Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos saga? ABC Studios has a podcast called 'The Dropout' with all the details. As well, Hulu created an award-winning limited TV series of the same name starring Amanda Seyfried. Check it out and let us know in the comments what you think!