Elizabeth Holmes news: Theranos founder surrenders to Texas prison to begin 11-year sentence
Disgraced tech entrepreneur reported to prison in Texas minutes before a court-imposed deadline on Tuesday
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Elizabeth Holmes has reported to prison to begin her 11-year sentence for defrauding investors in her blood-testing Silicon Valley start-up Theranos.
Wearing a beige sweater, jeans and sneakers, the 39-year-old mother of two was directed into Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, by staff from the Federal Bureau of Prisons minutes before a court-imposed deadline of 2pm on Tuesday.
A federal appeals court rejected her bid to remain out of prison earlier this month while she attempts to overturn her January 2022 conviction on four felony counts of fraud and conspiracy.
A delay was granted to give Holmes time to sort out child care for her one-year-old son William and three-month-old daughter Invicta. Holmes had originally been ordered to begin her prison sentence on 27 April.
Holmes spent the Memorial Day weekend with husband Billy Evans and their children near their home in San Diego, before surrendering to authorities in Texas.
She has also been ordered to pay $452m in restitution to out-of-pocket investors, including Rupert Murdoch and Betsy DeVos.
Her former romantic and business partner, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, began serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence last month in Southern California.
Can Elizabeth Holmes repay the $452m owed to her victims?
Elizabeth Holmes was ordered to pay restitution of $452m to out-of-pocket investors in her failed blood testing business Theranos by a judge in California earlier this month.
Among those due to be repaid were Rupert Murdoch, who was in line to received $125m, and former Secretary of State Betsy DeVos.
Other donors included Henry Kissinger, and the Walton family, the billionaire owners of Walmart.
Holmes told the New York Times in a recent interview that she could not afford to pay her legal bills.
She stands to earn between $1.15 and 12 cents an hour carrying out menial tasks at Camp Bryan, the Texas prison where she is due to report to on Tuesday.
The near half billion dollar sum is unlikely to ever be repaid.
Pictured: The Texas prison where Elizabeth Holmes will report to on Tuesday
Elizabeth Holmes is due to report to a federal prison in Bryan, Texas, on Tuesday to begin her 11-year sentence for defrauding investors of her Theranos blood testing startup.
Inmates at the all-female prison told the Wall Street Journal they were looking forward to welcoming the disgraced tech entrepreneur.
“I want to be her friend,” one told the Journal.
Holmes, 39, is appealing her fraud conviction and sentence, and continued to plead her innocence in a recentNew York Times interview.
At Bryan, the mother of two will face a gruelling daily schedule beginning at 6am, when inmates are woken up for meals and work. Those who fail to comply with the strict wakeup rules are subject to punishments.
Inmates can earn between $1.15 and 12 cents an hour on work programmes.
How long will Elizabeth Holmes serve?
Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11 years and three months in federal prison last year after being convicted of four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy at trial.
She continues to appeal her conviction and sentence, and tried to delay the start of her sentence several times.
A judge has ordered her to report to prison, believed to be the Federal Prison Camp, Bryan, Texas, on Tuesday.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, prisoners must serve 85 per cent of their sentence.
In Holmes’ case, that would be 9 and a half years in prison, making her eligible for release in December 2032.
What is Elizabeth Holmes’ net worth?
At the height of her Theranos fame in 2014, Elizabeth Holmes was touted by Forbes as being the youngest self-made billionaire in the world.
At the age of 30, the blood testing company she founded was valued at $9bn, giving her an estimated net worth of $4.5bn.
After Theranos’ stunning downfall, and with the company losing almost all of its value, Forbes issued a revised estimate in 2016 putting her wealth at zero.
Ms Holmes and former Theranos COO Ramesh Balwani were this month ordered to pay restitution of $450m to investors, but appear unlikely to be able to pay.
She recently told the New York Times she is unable to even afford her legal fees.
Her husband Billy Evans is heir to a San Diego hospitality chain.
Who is Holmes’ husband Billy Evans?
While Elizabeth Holmes’ spectacular fall has been pored over in countless news reports, documentaries, several books, and a TV miniseries, little is known about her marriage to hotel heir William “Billy” Evans.
The couple met in the fall of 2017 at a Fleet Week charity event in San Francisco, as Holmes’ blood-testing business Theranos was under federal investigation.
“I was captivated by her childish wonder and authenticity,” Mr Evans wrote in a gushing letter to the judge ahead of her sentencing last year.
As Holmes’ billion-dollar tech startup crumbled around her, their relationship grew closer.
He was a constant presence during her trial, conviction and sentencing to 11 years prison on four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in California last year.
Here’s what we know about Billy Evans.
Who is Billy Evans, the husband of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes?
Billy Evans pleaded with a judge not to send his wife to prison, claiming that her ‘capacity to change the world is limitless’. Instead, he faces raising their two young children without her.
Deadline approaches for Elizabeth Holmes to report to prison
The deadline for Elizabeth Holmes to report to federal prison to begin her 11-year sentence for fraud is fast approaching.
A federal judge ordered the Theranos founder to begin serving the sentence by 2pm on Tuesday 30 May.
With less than half an hour to go, there’s still no sign that Holmes has arrived at Federal Prison Camp Bryan, 100 miles north of Houston.
News cameras are showing a livestream of the entrance to the all-female low security prison.
Amanda Seyfried says she ‘feels' for Elizabeth Holmes children
Amanda Seyfried, who portrayed Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout, says she “feels” for her two young children as reports to prison to begin her 11-year sentence.
Speaking to Good Morning America on Tuesday, the 37-year-old actress said Holmes’ two young children are “hanging in the balance”.
“As a parent, as a mom, I’m just like, life’s not fair, but in a lot of ways it’s fair for her,” she said.
Seyfried won plaudits for her portrayal of the Theranos founder in the 2022 Hulu miniseries The Dropout.
Elizabeth Holmes starts her 11-year sentence for fraud
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has reported to Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas to begin her 11-year sentence for defrauding wealthy and powerful investors.
Footage captured by reporter Scott Budman showed the 39-year-old mother of two entering the prison at around 1.30pm, half an hour before the court-imposed dealine.
'Bad Blood, the final final chapter’
John Carreyrou, the former Wall Street Journal reporter whose dogged reporting uncovered the Theranos scam, has weighed in after Elizabeth Holmes reported for prison to begin her 11-year sentence on Tuesday.
“Bad Blood, the final final chapter,” the journalist wrote on Twitter.
Mr Carreyrou’s 2018 bestselling book Bad Blood documented how Holmes had lied to investors about her blood testing startup.
Elizabeth Holmes turns herself in
Wearing a beige sweater, jeans and sneakers, Elizabeth Holmes was directed into Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, by staff from the Federal Bureau of Prisons just minutes before a court-imposed deadline of 2pm on Tuesday.
The moment was captured by a reporter from the local news network Kags TV.
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