Elizabeth Holmes can’t stay out of prison on appeal, court rules

An appeals court has denied Elizabeth Holmes’ last-ditch bid to stay out of prison while the Theranos founder appeals her conviction of defrauding investors.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that Holmes’ appeal was unlikely to result in her sentence being overturned. Holmes was initially scheduled to report to prison on April 27, but the reporting date was automatically delayed with her latest appeal. A new date for her to report to prison has not been set.

Also on Tuesday, Judge Edward Davila of the Northern District of California ruled that Holmes must pay $452 million in restitution to victims of Theranos’ fraud, including a group of investors and former Theranos partners Walgreens and Safeway.

Davila previously recommended that Holmes serve her 11-year sentence at a low-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas, that allows for family visitation. Holmes, 39, has two young children with her partner, Billy Evans.

At Theranos’ peak, the startup that promised to revolutionize blood testing was valued at $9 billion, making Holmes the richest self-made woman in the world, if only on paper. But after a series of articles by the Wall Street Journal revealed the technology didn’t work as promised, the company unraveled.

Holmes’ former partner and ex-Theranos executive Sunny Balwani was also convicted of defrauding investors and sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison. He started serving his sentence in April at FCI Terminal Island prison in San Pedro, California.