London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Elizabeth Holmes: Disgraced Theranos founder delays going to jail after winning appeal

Elizabeth Holmes: Disgraced Theranos founder delays going to jail after winning appeal

Her company, a Silicon Valley sensation, claimed it could test for dozens of diseases from a single blood test, but when the tech turned out to be flawed, the founder was jailed for more than 11 years.

Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced tech billionaire convicted of fraud, has avoided starting her 11-year jail term on Thursday after a judge backed her appeal to delay it.

Holmes, 39, who founded Theranos, was sentenced to 11 years and three months after being found guilty of three counts of investor fraud and one count of conspiracy in November, following a four-month trial.

Theranos, a Silicon Valley sensation, promised to test for dozens of diseases from a single blood test, but was found to have flawed technology.

Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani was sentenced to 13 years


Holmes, and her former partner and subordinate, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, were accused of fleecing investors who backed the company to the tune of nearly $1bn (£803m), at the same time as endangering patients' health.

Balwani, 57, is serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence after being convicted of 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy.

A judge in San Francisco upheld Holmes's lawyers' appeal against a lower court's decision on Wednesday to deny her release while she appeals her original fraud conviction.

Earlier this month, Judge Edward Davila rejected an appeal for her to be released pending further appeals and told her to report to a minimum-security prison near Houston on Thursday.

But late on Tuesday, Holmes's lawyers filed an appeal, saying that decision contained "numerous, inexplicable errors" including references to "patient fraud convictions", even though the jury acquitted Holmes on those counts, Sky's US partner, NBC News, said.

Holmes was sentenced in November for what prosecutors called "among the most substantial white collar offences Silicon Valley or any other district has seen".

Amanda Seyfried as Holmes in The Dropout.


She became America's youngest-ever self-made female billionaire by 2014, but after the tech was exposed as bogus, the company - once valued at $9bn (£7.3bn) - quickly came crashing down.

Prosecutors have until 3 May to respond to Holmes's latest motion, NBC News said.

Holmes outside court with family and friends, including partner Billy Evans


Holmes's term will begin around 20 years after she dropped out of Stanford to found Theranos, inspired by the successes of Silicon Valley heavyweights like Apple boss Steve Jobs.

She has two children, both fathered by her current partner, William "Billy" Evans, who she met after breaking up with Balwani.

Her astonishing rise and fall from history-making billionaire to the brink of jail has inspired documentaries, podcasts, and an award-winning TV drama - The Dropout - starring Amanda Seyfried as Holmes.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×