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Elizabeth Holmes set to start prison sentence today
Featured Image Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo

Elizabeth Holmes set to start prison sentence today

The respected entrepreneur turned fraudster is set to begin her 11-year sentence on Tuesday.

Elizabeth Holmes is set to begin her 11-year prison sentence today (30 May), in what will be a huge lifestyle change for the Theranos founder.

The 39-year-old was found guilty of four of 11 fraud and conspiracy charges relating to Theranos in January 2022.

The respect businesswoman-turned-fraudster had Theranos as a $9 million healthtech start-up company, but things quickly became sour.

Holmes was dubbed the youngest ever female self-made billionaire by Forbes when she was just 30-year-old, and had a stake in Theranos worth $4.5bn.

But the business eventually imploded following an investigation from the Wall Street Journal, which questioned inconsistencies and problems with its technology.

Elizabeth Holmes is set to be set to prison today.
Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo

In a story broke by John Carreyrou, Holmes was outed, as the core blood-testing tech did not even work.

The company, which Holmes founded when she was just 19, officially dissolved in 2018 and shortly after she was charged with 11 counts of fraud - though she was later only found guilty of four of those charges.

Meanwhile, former co-executive and ex-boyfriend, Sunny Balwani, was charged and found guilty of 12 counts of fraud.

After being found guilty nearly 18 months ago, Holmes has managed to delay - and delay - going to prison by appealing her conviction and then appealing judge denials.

But her most recent appeal has been rejected, and she is now set to begin her lengthy sentence at a federal prison camp for women in Bryan, Texas.

Speaking tearfully in court ahead of sentencing in 2022, Holmes said: "I am devastated by my failings. I have felt deep pain for what people went through, because I failed them.

"I regret my failings with every cell of my body.”

In response, the judge said: "Failure is normal. But failure by fraud is not OK."

Holmes was emotional in court when she was sentenced in January 2022.
Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo

The disgraced entrepreneur being sent to prison comes just a matter of months after she gave birth to her second child, which many expected would have happened while she was behind bars.

But thanks to the lengthy appeal process, Holmes was able to give birth to her second child while free.

With firsthand descriptions published by The Wall Street Journal, and also an inmate handbook for the Texas facility, Holmes is set to expect a rather different lifestyle for the next 11 years.

During her whole trial, Holmes lived on the grounds of a 74-acre estate in Woodside - regarded as one of the most affluent areas of Silicon Valley.

But according to firsthand descriptions, Holmes can now expect to stay in a room the size of a toilet in her current residence.

Topics: US News, News, Money, Crime