Elizabeth Holmes’ prison sentence was quietly shortened by two years, new records show.
An update to Holmes’ profile on the website of the Bureau of Prisons now projects her release date as 12 December 2032, two years sooner than initially scheduled. A spokesman for the federal agency confirmed the update but said he could not comment further citing “privacy, safety, and security reasons” for inmates.
Holmes had reported to a minimum-security, federal women’s prison camp located in Bryan, Texas, on 30 May after being convicted in November 2022 on four counts of defrauding investors and sentenced to 11 years and three months. Her new date of release means she will instead serve about nine years and seven months.
She had been out on bail since she was indicted on fraud charges in 2018 over her role as the head of the failed blood-testing firm. During that time, she had two children with her partner, Billy Evans.
Inmates in the US can have their sentences reduced for good conduct, including completing job assignments, following orders, and completing substance abuse programs and other rehabilitation courses, the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. That gained time can also be revoked or forfeited over disciplinary concerns or other infractions.
The reduction seen by Holmes is in line with federal sentencing guidelines, which states that people convicted of federal offenses must serve 85% of their mandated sentence, even if they get time shaved off for good conduct.
Lawyers for Holmes did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The sentencing change comes after her co-conspirator, Sunny Balwani, also saw two years shaved off of his 13-year sentence, with his projected date of release now 1 April 2034, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.
Holmes and Balwani were convicted in separate trials for their actions at the head of Theranos, a multibillion-dollar biotech company that collapsed spectacularly after reporting from the Wall Street Journal and others revealed its technology to be largely fraudulent.
Government lawyers for the prosecution teams did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Holmes will also face three years of supervised release after her sentence ends and has been ordered to pay $452m in restitution to victims of the fraud, though a judge has delayed those payments due to her “limited financial resources”.
Lawyers for Holmes have appealed her conviction, and proceedings for that process have been under way while she serves her sentence.
I’m sorry, what now? She stole people’s money, was ordered to pay it back, then was told she didn’t have to pay it back right now because if she did she wouldn’t have any (stolen) money left…? The fuck kinda billshit is that?
wealthy and white is apparently a reduced-jail-sentence card if it can’t be an outright get-out-of-jail card.
While I’m concerned about the financial fraud and all, she was running a scam on people’s health.
This isn’t simply dollars. Not that the scale of her financial scam isn’t enough.
She stole money from the rich and stupid. I’m not losing any sleep over it.
Maybe. But she also defrauded innocent customers by offering fake or inaccurate blood tests. Thats the far greater crime.
Didn’t she do that by literally running legitimate tests in the background?
She diluted the blood samples way too muchtfor them to be accurate even on certified machines.
One of her selling points was “with a drop of blood” or something along those lines for a full battery of tests.
Turns out even running a long list of legitimate tests needed vials of blood, way more than a couple drops.
Do you have a source about the part of not paying the money back?
I sure do - it’s in the OP article.
… where more specifically? The only thing I find is this:
… which doesn’t state she get to keep any of the money she stole.
Hm, I’m confused by your confusion lol.
Maybe read my original comment again? I’m not sure how to clear this up.
She obviously doesn’t have the money left to pay WITH. It’s not that she’s sitting with $452M in the bank that she can’t return “because if she did she wouldn’t have any (stolen) money left”.
How is that obvious? Do you have access to her bak account? Her hidden offshore accounts? The rest of her assets?
She stole a shitload of money. I don’t buy that she doesn’t have any money left and can’t pay at least some of it back now.