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Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Homes is facing a 15-year prison sentence as her lawyers beg for more lenient treatment for the pregnant mother-to-be.
Homes, 38, is set to be sentenced for defrauding investors out of $140million by claiming her Theranos blood test technology would change the world.
She has delayed her fate with two pregnancies already; Holmes is currently pregnant with her second child and it’s unclear when she is due to give birth.
Her first – a boy – was born last August before her trial in California began, where she was convicted of four counts of investor fraud and conspiracy in January.
Holmes and her family remained silent as they walked into the court building, holding hands with her partner Billy Evans.
Among the 137 letters submitted to the judge was one from Evans and Senator Cory Booker, with Holmes surrounded by her team of nine lawyers in the federal courtroom.
Evans begged for mercy for his partner, citing the couple’s young son and the baby on the way.
Her saga has been dissected in an HBO documentary and an award-winning Hulu TV series about her meteoric rise and mortifying downfall.
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila will decide her fate, with the federal government recommending she spends 15 years behind bars.
They also ask that she serve a three-year supervised release and pay back more than $800 million in restitution.
It is less than the maximum sentence of 20 years she could face, but her legal team is asking for a sentence of no more than 18 months, preferably served in home confinement.
Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes arrives at federal court in San Jose, California in October, with a federal judge deciding her fate today
A probation report also submitted to Davila recommended a nine-year prison sentence for Holmes
Homes, 38, is set to be sentenced for defrauding investors out of $140million by claiming her Theranos blood test technology would change the world
Heavily pregnant Holmes and her family remained silent as they walked into the court building, holding hands with her partner Billy Evans
Her legal team say that Holmes deserves the more lenient treatment because she is now a devoted mother.
A probation report also submitted to Davila recommended a nine-year prison sentence for Holmes.
Holmes raised nearly $1billion from a list of sophisticated investors that included software magnate Larry Ellison, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and the Walton family behind Walmart.
While charming investors, Holmes managed to convince ex-US Defense Secretary James Mattis and two former U.S. Secretaries of State, Henry Kissinger and the late George Shultz to serve on the Theranos board.
Mattis testified against her during her trial, and Shultz’s son blasted Holmes for concocting a scheme that played Shultz ‘for the fool.’
Davila´s judgment – and Holmes’ reporting date for a potential stint in prison — could be affected by her second pregnancy in two years.
Holmes embraced a supporter as she walked into federal court to find out her fate
Holmes found herself in hot water after she falsely claimed that her blood tests could diagnose a multitude of health conditions with a drop of blood. Holmes, center, arrives at federal court with her father, Christian Holmes IV, left, and partner, Billy Evans, in California on October 17
Holmes, shown with her son, is ‘terribly scared’, according to her partner. ‘It’s been a long road of hardship for her. All that being said, we have found peace in this storm. She now lives what she and I both believe to be a dream,’ he said
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes listens as the court clerk reads before Judge Edward Davila that she was found guilty on four of 11 counts in her fraud trial on January 3, 2022
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After giving birth to a son shortly before her trial started last year, Holmes became pregnant at some point while free on bail this year.
Although her lawyers don’t mention the pregnancy in a 82-page memo submitted to Davila last week, the pregnancy was confirmed in a letter from her current partner, William ‘Billy’ Evans, that urged the judge to be merciful.
Holmes family shared personal pictures of her as a new mother in their letters to the judge, asking for mercy
In that 12-page letter, which included pictures of Holmes doting on their 1-year-old son, Evans mentioned that Holmes participated in a Golden Gate Bridge swimming event earlier this year while pregnant.
He also noted Holmes suffered through a case of COVID-19 in August while pregnant. Evans didn´t disclose Holmes´ due date in his letter.
Duncan Levin, a former federal prosecutor who is now a defense attorney, predicted that Davila´s sentencing decision won´t be swayed by the pregnancy, but expects the judge to allow her to remain free until after the baby is born.
He said: ‘She will be no more of a flight risk after she is sentenced than she was while awaiting sentencing.
‘We have to temper our sentences with some measure of humanity.’
The pregnancy makes it more likely Davila will be criticized no matter what sentence he imposes, predicted Amanda Kramer, another former federal prosecutor.
Holmes with her parents and brother. Her mother attended every day of the civil trial
‘There is a pretty healthy debate about what kind of sentence is needed to effect general deterrence to send a message to others who are thinking of crossing that line from sharp salesmanship into material misrepresentation,’ Kramer said.
Federal prosecutor Robert Leach described her crimes as one of the most egregious white-collar ever committed in Silicon Valley.
In a scathing 46-page memo, Leach told the judge he has an opportunity to send a message that curbs the hubris and hyperbole unleashed by the tech boom of the past decade.
He claims Holmes ‘preyed on hopes of her investors that a young, dynamic entrepreneur had changed healthcare,’ Leach wrote. ‘And through her deceit, she attained spectacular fame, adoration, and billions of dollars of wealth.’
Holmes was acquitted by a jury on four counts of fraud and conspiracy, linked to the patients who took Theranos blood tests.
However Leach also asked Davila to factor in the health threats posed by Holmes´ conduct.
The Honorable Edward J. Davila (pictured) will be sentencing Holmes for her crimes today
Theranos’ former president Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani was convicted in July of defrauding investors and patients about the company. His sentencing is scheduled for December 7
Holmes´ lawyer Kevin Downey says that she never stopped trying to perfect the technology until Theranos collapsed in 2018.
They also pointed out that Holmes never sold any of her Theranos shares – a stake valued at $4.5 billion in 2014 when Holmes was being hailed as the next Steve Jobs on the covers of business magazines.
Defending herself against criminal charges has left Holmes with ‘substantial debt from which she is unlikely to recover.’
Downey also asked Davila to consider the alleged sexual and emotional abuse Holmes suffered while she was involved romantically with Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani.
Balwani became a Theranos investor, top executive and eventually an accomplice in her crimes.
The 57-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced on December 7 after being convicted in a July trial on 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy.
