Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes asks court to remain free until appeal ruling

Theranos pregnant con artist Elizabeth Holmes has asked a court to allow her to remain free pending a decision on her appeal against her conviction and 11-year prison sentence.

Holmes, 38, was sentenced in November after being convicted at trial of defrauding investors. She is appealing the conviction and sentence in the US Court of Appeals, seeking a new trial and citing 10 reasons why her request should be granted, Mercury News informed.

In her bid to remain free, Holmes’ legal team said in a court filing, filed last week in US District Court in San Jose, that she was found guilty only of the charges of defrauding investors. , not the charges of defrauding patients.

Holmes, who is the mother of one, is pregnant with her second child and is due to give birth before she begins serving her prison sentence on April 27.

Holmes, pictured arriving at court for her sentencing in November, is pregnant with her second child. She is due to report to prison on April 27.

In the filing, Holmes’ lawyers said: “This was a complex, close, months-long trial with numerous witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence that produced a split verdict. The file is full of issues to appeal.

Holmes’ filing also claimed that the judge made errors, which included allowing the jury to hear about the regulatory action against Theranos, and the company’s annulment of all test results from its ‘Edison’ machines, the media reported.

Her filing also questions the events that took place after she made ‘material’ statements to investors.

He further claimed that the judge should have granted his September motion for a new trial based on a key witness for the prosecution, former Theranos lab director Adam Rosendorff, who visited his home over the summer, where he allegedly told his partner Billy Evans who regretted the role he had played. he played on his conviction, ABC News informed.

Steven Clark, a former Santa Clara prosecutor, believes Holmes made a strong case for trying to stay free during his appeal.

Part of his reasoning, he cited, was based, in part, on the fact that she is not a threat to public safety and likely will not run, adding that “everyone knows who she is” so “there is no room for Mrs. Holmes”. hide,’ SiliconValley.com informed.

Clark responded that prosecutors may argue that the latest move may be his way of delaying his prison sentence, and instead he may need to start taking responsibility for his actions.

During sentencing on November 18 in the US District Court in San Jose, US Federal Judge Edward Davila ordered Holmes 11.25 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered it delivered on April 27, 2023.

Holmes, pictured in court in September when she made an unsuccessful bid for a new trial, has been given adequate time to give birth before her prison sentence begins.

At the height of Theranos, the startup was valued at $9 billion, based on Holmes’s false claims that his technology could perform a full range of tests with just a few drops of blood. A series of Wall Street Journal revelations led to federal charges and the demise of the company in 2018.

Although Holmes has not disclosed a due date for her second child, the court has reportedly granted Holmes adequate time to deliver the baby before her prison sentence begins, despite her lawyer seeking leniency. , according to reports.

On July 10, 2021, Holmes gave birth to her first child, a boy named William, with hotel partner heir Billy Evans, who reportedly began dating the con man following the collapse of his empire.

The former biotech entrepreneur and Stanford University dropout launched the Palo-Alto blood-testing company Theranos when she was 19 years old.

Holmes, whose baritone voice and trademark black turtlenecks, a tribute to the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, claimed Theranos would revolutionize the blood-testing industry with just a finger prick.

At its peak, the startup was valued at $9 billion, based on Holmes’ false claims that his technology could perform a full range of tests with just a few drops of blood.

The company collapsed after a series of revelations from the Wall Street Journal, which led to federal charges.

His claim to fame was to revolutionize the blood testing industry with just a finger prick, using only small amounts of blood.

Holmes’ baritone voice and signature black turtlenecks were a tribute to the late Apple founder Steve Jobs.

During his sentencing in November, Holmes sobbed in court as he addressed the judge, telling him he felt “deep shame.”

I stand before you assuming responsibility for Theranos. I loved Theranos. It was my life’s work.

‘There are so many things I would do differently if given the chance. I tried to realize my dream too fast.

She added: ‘Yesterday I tried to change the world. Today I am wise and I want to change myself.’

Judge Davilla called the case “so troubling on so many levels.”

‘There is no doubt that Mrs Holmes is brilliant. Was there a loss of a moral compass here? The tragedy of this case is that Mrs. Holmes is brilliant.

‘Failure is normal. But failure by fraud is not okay. What is the pathology of fraud? Is it the inability to accept responsibility? Perhaps that is the moral of this case.