The Judge Denies Elizabeth Holmes’ Motion to Remain Free in Her Appeal for a Charged Misdemeanor of the Theranos Company

A judge on Monday denied Elizabeth Holmes’ request to remain free while she appeals her conviction, setting the stage for the disgraced Theranos founder to report to prison later this month.

In January 2022, Holmes was convicted of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after a jury found that she defrauded investors out of more than $100 million over a blood-testing device that did not work as advertised.

A court may allow a release during an appeal if the defendant is not seen as a flight risk or threat to the community, the request isn’t used to delay the defendant going to prison or the appeal raises a substantial question of facts or law.

At college, she founded Theranos as an undergraduate student. The company promised that its technology could screen patients for diseases with a sample from a single finger prick of blood rather than a full blood draw.

Even though the technology did not work, there were still over $1 billion invested in hols. Its results were often faulty, and the company frequently relied on commercially available blood analyzer machines to conduct its tests.

In his order, Judge Edward Davila of the Northern District of California said Holmes does not pose a danger to the community or a flight risk, but he cast doubt on her appeal. He said that an order for a new trial for all of the counts she was found guilty on would not happen even if she won her appeal.

The ex-boyfriend and the former chief operating officer of Theranos was convicted on multiple counts of fraud after a separate trial. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison last December. Balwani was ordered to surrender to prison on April 20 after he was denied a request to remain out of prison during his appeal.

While Davila denied Holmes represented a flight risk, he also addressed the fact that she had previously booked a one-way ticket to Mexico in January 2022.

The lack of canceling travel plans immediately after a guilty verdict is a dangerous oversight, according to the court filing.