Elizabeth Holmes Gets Bad News From Judge

UPDATE May 17, 2023 12:00 AM CDT

Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has once again lost her bid to stay out of prison while she appeals her fraud conviction tied to a blood-testing hoax that bilked investors. In a one-page ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that Holmes' appeal did not show that she would have received a shorter sentence or have her conviction reversed due to errors made during her trial, the AP reports. She is set to report to prison later this month, CNN reports.

Apr 26, 2023 2:21 PM CDT

Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has avoided starting her more than 11-year prison sentence on Thursday by deploying the same legal maneuver that enabled her co-conspirator in a blood-testing hoax to remain free for an additional month. Holmes' lawyers on Wednesday informed US District Judge Edward Davila that she won't be reporting to prison as scheduled because she had filed an appeal of the decision he issued earlier this month ordering her to begin her sentence on April 27; she had wanted to remain free while she appeals her conviction, reports the AP.

The appeal filed late Tuesday with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals late Tuesday automatically delays her reporting date. NPR reports it's a typical delay that both sides had been expecting. The tactic deployed by Holmes mirrored a move made last month by her former lover and subordinate, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, to avoid a prison reporting date of March 16. After the Ninth Circuit rejected his appeal three weeks later, Davila set a new reporting date of April 20. Balwani, 57, is now serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence in a federal prison located in San Pedro, California after being convicted of 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy.

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Holmes, 38, last appeared in court about a month ago in an attempt to persuade Davila to allow her to remain free on bail while her appeal plays out. Davila, who scolded Holmes for betraying Silicon Valley's history of innovation when he sentenced her in November, subsequently rejected that request. Davila had recommended Holmes be incarcerated at a low-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas, but it has not been publicly disclosed if that is where she has been assigned to serve her sentence.

(More Elizabeth Holmes stories.)