The judge ordered Elizabeth to report to prison this month while she waits for the outcome of her appeal
A Federal Judge Denies Elizabeth Holmes’ Motion to Stay Free on Bail During an Appeal of a Charge of Wire Fraud in Theranos
A California federal judge has denied Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ request to remain free on bail as the former leader of the medical technology startup tries to appeal her conviction for wire fraud, according to court documents filed Monday.
According to the opinion, Ms.Holmes’s misrepresentations to Theranos investors involved more than just whether the technology worked as promised. There were also misrepresentations regarding the company’s financial status, reliance on third-party and commercially available devices, partnership with Walgreens, and validation by pharmaceutical companies.”
A court may allow a release during an appeal if the defendant is not seen as a flight risk or threat to the community, the request isn’t used to delay the defendant going to prison or the appeal raises a substantial question of facts or law.
She founded the company while she was an undergrad student at the university. The company promised to use its technology to screen patients for diseases with a sample from a single finger instead of a full blood draw.
Theranos attracted top investors and retail partners with claims it had developed technology to test for many different conditions using just a few drops of blood. The company began to unravel after a Wall Street Journal investigation in 2015 reported that Theranos had only ever performed roughly a dozen of the hundreds of tests it offered using its proprietary technology, and with questionable accuracy.
A Californ County Circuit Court of Appeal for a Class-Analysis of Homes’ Ex-Birthfriend and Former Chief Operating Officer at Theranos
The judge in the Northern District of California said he wasn’t sure if she posed a risk to the community, but he cast doubt on her appeal. He said that if Homes was successful in her appeal, it was unlikely that the judge would overturn her guilty verdict or order a new trial.
Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, Holmes’ ex-boyfriend and the former chief operating officer at Theranos, was also found guilty on multiple counts of fraud in a separate trial. He was sentenced for nearly 13 years in December. Balwani was ordered to surrender to prison on April 20 because of his request to stay out of prison during his appeal.
He spoke about the fact that she had booked a one-way ticket to Mexico in January 2022.
According to the courtFiling, the failure to cancel travel plans immediately after a conviction is a perilously careless oversight.
