Elizabeth Holmes faces judgment day for her Theranos crimes.
, preferably served in home confinement. Her lawyers have argued that Holmes deserves more lenient treatment as a well-meaning entrepreneur who is now a devoted mother with another child on the way. Prosecutors also want Holmes to pay $804 million in restitution.
The amount covers most of the nearly $1 billion that Holmes raised from a list of sophisticated investors that included software magnate Larry Ellison, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and the Walton family behind Walmart. While wooing investors, Holmes leveraged a high-powered Theranos board that included former U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, who during her trial, and two former U.S. Secretaries of State, Henry Kissinger and the late George Shultz, whose son submitted a statement blasting Holmes for concocting a scheme that played Shultz “for the fool.” Davila’s judgment – and Holmes’ reporting date for a potential stint in prison -- could be affected by the former entrepreneur’s second pregnancy in two years. After giving birth to a son shortly before her trial started last year, Holmes became pregnant at some point while free on bail this year. Although her lawyers didn’t mention the pregnancy in a 82-page memo submitted to Davila last week, the pregnancy was confirmed in a letter from her current partner, William “Billy” Evans, that urged the judge to be merciful. In that 12-page letter, which included pictures of Holmes doting on their 1-year-old son, Evans mentioned that Holmes participated in a Golden Gate Bridge swimming event earlier this year while pregnant. He also noted Holmes suffered through a case of COVID in August while pregnant. Evans didn’t disclose Holmes’ due date in his letter. Duncan Levin, a former federal prosecutor who is now a defense attorney, predicted that Davila’s sentencing decision won’t be swayed by the pregnancy, but expects the judge to allow her to remain free until after the baby is born. “She will be no more of a flight risk after she is sentenced that she was while awaiting sentencing,” Levin said. “We have to temper our sentences with some measure of humanity.” The pregnancy makes it more likely Davila will be criticized no matter what sentence he imposes, predicted Amanda Kramer, another former federal prosecutor. “There is a pretty healthy debate about what kind of sentence is needed to effect general deterrence to send a message to others who are thinking of crossing that line from sharp salesmanship into material misrepresentation,” Kramer said. Federal prosecutor Robert Leach emphatically declared Holmes deserves a severe punishment for engineering a scam that he described as one of the most egregious white-collar crimes ever committed in Silicon Valley. In a scathing 46-page memo, Leach told the judge he has an opportunity to send a message that curbs the hubris and hyperbole unleashed by the tech boom of the past decade. Holmes “preyed on hopes of her investors that a young, dynamic entrepreneur had changed healthcare,” Leach wrote. “And through her deceit, she attained spectacular fame, adoration, and billions of dollars of wealth.” Even though Holmes was acquitted by a jury on four counts of fraud and conspiracy tied to patients who took Theranos blood tests, Leach also asked Davila to factor in the health threats posed by Holmes’ conduct. Holmes’ lawyer Kevin Downey painted her as a selfless visionary who spent 14 years of her life trying to revolutionize health care with a technology that was supposed to be able to scan for hundreds of diseases and other aliments with just a few drops of blood. Although evidence submitted during her trial showed the tests produced wildly unreliable results that could have steered patients in the wrong direction, her lawyers asserted Holmes never stopped trying to perfect the technology until Theranos collapsed in 2018. They also pointed out that Holmes never sold any of her Theranos shares — a stake valued at $4.5 billion in 2014 when Holmes was being hailed as the next Steve Jobs on the covers of business magazines. Defending herself against criminal charges has left Holmes with “substantial debt from which she is unlikely to recover,” Downey wrote, suggesting that she is unlikely ever to pay any restitution that Davila might order as part of her sentence.Downey also asked Davila to consider the alleged sexual and emotional abuse Holmes suffered while she was romantically with Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who became a Theranos investor, top executive and eventually an accomplice in her crimes. Balwani, 57, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 7 after Most Read
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lawyer who beat Microsoft, repped Theranos, eyes suit against FTX's celeb backersLawyer David Boies is talking with clients about a class action suit against promoters of the troubled crypto exchange FTX.
Read more »
PREP BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Holmes scores 35 as Geneva County downs SlocombOmari Holmes scored 35 points in leading Geneva County to a 60-54 win over Slocomb on Tuesday night in high school basketball action.
Read more »
Life after Theranos: What 130 personal letters to sentencing judge reveal about Elizabeth HolmesFrom her 'wolf' dog being killed by a mountain lion to confirming she is pregnant with her second child, new court documents provide a fascinating look into Elizabeth Holmes' life after Theranos.
Read more »
Elizabeth Holmes: How long could she go to prison? What to know before her sentencing on FridayFormer Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes is set to be sentenced by the end of this week. She was found guilty of four counts of fraud earlier this year. The question now is how much time, if any, could Holmes serve in prison.
Read more »
Former Berkshire exec asks for leniency in Elizabeth Holmes' sentenceWarren Buffett's one-time heir apparent who resigned in disgrace amid accusations of insider trading has pleaded for a judge to be lenient in sentencing Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes
Read more »
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes set to be sentencedFormer Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes is set to be sentenced on Friday, 10 months after a jury found her guilty of defrauding investors in the failed blood-testing company.
Read more »