Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is expected to report to a women’s prison camp in Bryan, Texas, on Tuesday to begin serving her 11-year sentence. Her surrender comes 16 months after she was found guilty of defrauding investors.
In December, Holmes appealed her conviction for defrauding investors when she ran Theranos, the company she founded and claimed created a device that could run a suite of medical tests with just one drop of blood, when it couldn’t do much of anything. Her lawyers alleged mistakes and misconduct during the trial and argued that Holmes should be allowed to stay out of prison while they work on the appeal because she was not a flight risk or a danger to the community. In February, they cited the birth of her second child as another reason she should be allowed to delay beginning her prison sentence, according to CBS. Although they succeeded in delaying her initial surrender date in April, their request was ultimately denied. According to NPR, Holmes hasn’t exhausted her appeals process and can continue to fight her conviction from prison.
Judge Edward Davila has also ordered the ex-Theranos founder to pay $452 million in restitution to the victims of her crimes. She will be held jointly liable for the sum along with her co-defendant, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who has already begun serving his sentence.
Holmes is married to William “Billy” Evans, the son of a hotelier, with whom she shares a 1-year-old son, William, and a 3-month-old daughter, Invicta (named after a Latin word meaning invincible, undefeated, or unconquered). Per NPR, Holmes’s family will be allowed to visit her every weekend. It isn’t clear just how much of her sentence Holmes will end up serving. The Wall Street Journal reports that many inmates at the prison camp in Bryan are released early for good behavior and participation in prison programs, including training Labrador puppies to become service dogs.
This article has been updated.
