Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes sentenced to 11 years in prison

Nov. 18 (UPI) — Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the failed blood-testing startup Theranos, was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison after she was convicted on four counts of wire fraud for duping investors.

Holmes, 38, was sentenced by Judge Edward Davila on Friday to 11 years and three months in prison with another three years of supervised release, according to CNN and The New York Times.

She was also fined $400 and ordered to turn herself in to begin serving her prison sentence on April 27, 2023.

“I loved Theranos. It was my life’s work,” Holmes said before her sentencing. “The people I tried to get involved with Theranos were the people I loved and respected the most. I am devastated by my failings.”

Holmes had faced a maximum of 20 years in prison. Her lawyers requested she receive 18 months of house arrest, while prosecutors asked for 15 years of imprisonment. The probation officer in the case recommended a sentence of nine years.

Theranos was founded in 2003 and eventually grew to a peak valuation of $10 billion on the claims that its technology could accurately run many tests on a single drop of blood.

Theranos dissolved in September 2018, shortly after Holmes was indicted, along with former Theranos President and Chief Operating Officer Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani.

Prosecutors said Holmes made false and misleading statements to investors about developing a device that could run a full range of blood tests with only a finger-prick sample.

Holmes’ attorneys argued she never had any intention of defrauding investors in the high-profile startup.

In January, 12 jurors found Holmes guilty on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was acquitted on four other counts, while a mistrial was declared on three additional counts of wire fraud.

Holmes’s request for a new trial was denied earlier this month when U.S. District Judge Edward Davila said Holmes did not show any misconduct by the government.

Her story was the subject of a 2019 HBO documentary, The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley. A Hulu dramatization of the case, The Dropout, stars Amanda Seyfried as Holmes.