Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Sentenced to 11 Years for Wire Fraud, Conspiracy

Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the doomed medical startup Theranos, has been sentenced to 11¼ years in jail for defrauding investors and consumers with a faulty blood-testing device she touted as the next revolutionary health technology.

Three years of supervised release will follow Holmes’ time in jail, according to multiple reports.

U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila sentenced Holmes Friday after a four-hour hearing. The eleven years and three months will conclude with the three-year supervision period and a fine of $400-$100 for each count.

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Back in January, Holmes was found guilty of four federal charges — three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud — but after 45 hours of deliberation, the jury could not reach a verdict on three other counts of wire fraud. The jury of eight men and four women eventually found Holmes not guilty of those three additional counts.

The historic events of Holmes’ scamming investors and consumers with a less-than-functional blood-testing instrument inspired limited series “The Dropout” as well as documentary “The Inventor.”

Amanda Seyfried portrayed Holmes in Hulu’s “The Dropout,” which premiered in March 2022. The actress won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology series with her depiction of the mind behind Theranos.

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The “Bad Blood” podcast also chronicled the rise and fall of Holmes and Theranos, and Jennifer Lawrence has exited a project where she would have portrayed her as well.

Holmes founded Theranos in 2013, building the company to a value of $9 billion. She successfully scammed investments from media mogul Rupert Murdoch as well as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Her former CEO of the biotech firm and boyfriend, Sunny Balwani , was convicted of 12 fraud counts in federal court in San Jose, California in July of this year. His tasks at Theranos included overseeing the company’s relationship with Walgreens, monitoring labs and managing software, finances and investor relationships.

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