Ms Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 at the age of 19.
Fallen US biotech star, Elizabeth Holmes is set to go to prison today to begin an 11-year sentence for defrauding investors with her Silicon Valley startup firm Theranos. According toBBC, The entrepreneur was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison and also ordered to pay back $452 million to dozens of high-profile investors along with his former business partner Ramesh Sunny Balwani.
The 39-year-old mother of two is expected to report today to the all-female prison camp in Bryan, Texas, about 100 miles outside Houston.
Her ex-boyfriend and former Theranos COO Ramesh Sunny Balwani was also convicted of fraud and was reported to be serving his sentence in prison in California last month. CNN.
experts told BBC, that she would not be able to just declare bankruptcy and thus wash away her debts. Prosecutors have probably begun seizing his assets, including money in the bank and properties.
Theranos founder was indicted in January 2022 on four counts of persuading investors for more than 15 years that he had developed a revolutionary medical device, before the company came under fire after an investigation. Wall Street Journal.
Notably, the company attracted investment from high-profile moguls including Rupert Murdoch, the Walton family, and former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. He was even hailed as the next tech visionary on magazine covers and collected mountains of investors’ cash, but it all came crashing down later. wall street journal Reporting revealed that the machines were not working as promised.
Prosecutors said he lied to investors from 2010 to 2015 by promising Theranos Inc technology that could perform multiple tests on a single drop of blood from a finger prick. Theranos eventually dissolved in September 2018. He has been asked to repay Rupert Murdoch the full $125m he invested in his failed start-up.
Ms Holmes had pleaded not guilty to charges of lying about Theranos and said the firm’s laboratory director was in charge of test quality. Prior to the announcement of her sentence in November 2022, she apologized to Theranos employees, investors and patients.
”I loved Theranos. This was my life’s work. The people I tried to connect with at Theranos were the people I loved and respected the most. I am devastated by my failures. I’m so so sorry. I gave everything to build my company and save my company. I regret my failures with every cell in my body.
Ms Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 at the age of 19. The company was once valued at $9 billion, and Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $4.5 billion in 2015.