A California appeals court has rejected an attempt by Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of the blood testing company Theranos, to have her 2022 conviction overturned. Holmes, who is currently serving a prison sentence, had sought to have her conviction for wire fraud and conspiracy dismissed.
Holmes, 39, was convicted in January 2022 of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for defrauding investors and patients with false claims about her company’s blood testing technology. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison but had her sentence reduced to nine years after receiving credit for good behavior.
Holmes co-founded Theranos in 2003 at the age of 19, and the company was once valued at over $9 billion. However, the company’s technology was eventually exposed as faulty, leading to criminal charges against Holmes and her former partner, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. Balwani, who was the former president of Theranos and Holmes’ ex-boyfriend, was convicted of fraud alongside her. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
On Monday, Feb. 24, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Holmes’ appeal, upholding her conviction. The judges found that the legal arguments Holmes presented were not sufficient to overturn the verdict.
Holmes had argued that the trial judge made a mistake by allowing former Theranos employees to testify as expert witnesses. However, the appeals court dismissed her claim, stating that the former employees testified based on their own experiences, not as experts. While the court acknowledged that some testimony may have ventured into expert territory, it ruled that any potential error was harmless in the context of the trial.
Additionally, Holmes had argued that the jury was misled by a report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) presented during the trial. She claimed that the report was inaccurate and should not have been used. The court, however, rejected this argument, ruling that the CMS report did not mislead the jury in a way that would warrant a retrial.
Holmes also raised concerns about her inability to cross-examine a former Theranos laboratory director during the trial. However, the court found that the district court’s decision to limit her access to the director for cross-examination was justifiable and did not violate her rights.
ADVERTISEMENT
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and legal expert, said that this ruling likely marks the end of the road for Holmes’ efforts to have her conviction reversed. “This is likely the end of the road for Holmes,” Rahmani told PEOPLE. “She gets one appeal as of right, and this was it. While there may be options for further appeals, only a small percentage of those result in a hearing.”
The court’s ruling on Holmes’ appeal effectively puts an end to her legal efforts to overturn her conviction, which has been a central part of the Theranos scandal that has captivated the public’s attention for years.
Following the appeals court’s decision, prosecutors declined to comment on the case.
Holmes is currently serving her sentence at a Texas federal prison, where she has been since May 2022. Her sentence was reduced after she earned time off for good behavior. Despite being behind bars, Holmes has spoken publicly about her life in prison and her family, including her two young children.
Holmes and Balwani were accused of misleading investors, doctors, and patients by falsely claiming that Theranos’ blood-testing technology could perform a wide range of tests quickly and cheaply with just a finger prick. The company’s promise of revolutionizing the medical industry was proven to be based on faulty technology, leading to charges of fraud.
Holmes, who is considered one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent fallen stars, has been the subject of extensive media coverage since her conviction. She was once hailed as a tech visionary, but her downfall has raised questions about the culture of deception in the startup world.
ADVERTISEMENT
Holmes has been vocal about her regret, but she has yet to fully accept responsibility for her actions. In a recent interview from prison, Holmes described her time behind bars as “hell” and “torture,” but she also expressed gratitude for her family and the support she continues to receive.
As of now, Holmes remains in prison, serving her sentence, and her legal options appear limited following the rejection of her appeal. The Theranos saga continues to be a cautionary tale of ambition, deception, and the consequences of fraudulent behavior in the tech world.
