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Theranos’ Holmes Won’t Avoid Jail While Her Appeal Is Pending

by | Apr 12, 2023 | News, Open Content

On Monday, federal Judge Edward Davila denied the disgraced Theranos CEO’s motion to remain free while she appeals her conviction.

So confident in ultimate legal victory was Elizabeth Holmes that she booked a one-way trip to Mexico to attend a wedding scheduled to take place three weeks after her conviction. That proved to be only the latest in a series of bad decisions, bolstering the prosecution’s portrayal of Holmes as a flight risk. And now it appears Holmes is on her way not to Mexico, but a federal prison.

On Monday, federal Judge Edward Davila denied the disgraced Theranos CEO’s motion to remain free while she appeals her conviction. While falling short of characterizing her as a flight risk, Judge Davila called Holmes’ travel plans “ill-advised.” “Booking international travel plans for a criminal defendant in anticipation of a complete defense victory is a bold move, and the failure to promptly cancel those plans after a guilty verdict is a perilously careless oversight,” he said in his denial.

As a result, Holmes will now have to start serving her 11-year-and-three-month prison sentence for four fraud charges on April 27th.

Meanwhile, Sunny Balwani—Holmes’ former lover, Theranos executive, and partner in crime—recently lost his motion to remain free while appealing his conviction for his role in the scandal, though he managed to delay the start of his almost-13-year prison sentence from mid-March to April 20.