Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes on November 18, 2022 in San Jose, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will not go to prison this week, despite a judge’s order that she begin serving her 11-year sentence on Thursday.
Late Tuesday, Holmes’ attorneys appealed that ruling to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Under the court’s rules, that means Holmes will remain free on bail for now.
Holmes has two children, the first of whom was born before her fraud trial in 2021. The second was born after her November sentencing.
A federal jury in San Jose convicted Holmes last year on four counts of defrauding investors in her failed blood testing company. In November, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila sentenced her to 11 years and 3 months in prison. Holmes’ attorneys asked that she be allowed to remain free on bail while she appeals her conviction, but earlier this month Davila denied that motion and ordered her to report to prison by April 27.
In their last-minute appeal, Holmes’ attorneys said Davila’s ruling contained “numerous, inexplicable errors,” including referring to “patient fraud counts” when Holmes was acquitted on the charges that she defrauded Theranos patients. They say she should be allowed to remain free while she appeals her conviction because the appeal is “likely to result in reversal.” The government has 10 days to respond to the motion.
Federal prosecutors have opposed Holmes’ efforts to remain free. In January, they argued Holmes was a flight risk, noting that she had booked a one-way flight to Mexico shortly before she was convicted. Davila agreed with defense lawyers that the plane ticket episode was merely an oversight, but he ruled that her appeal was unlikely to change the outcome of the case.
While Tuesday’s motion keeps Holmes out of prison for now, it may only be a brief reprieve. Holmes’ mentor and former boyfriend Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, convicted in a separate trial last…
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