Federal Judge Edward Davila ordered Holmes to appear before prison authorities on May 30 in San Jose, California. The previous evening, an appeals court had rejected the 39-year-old’s request for early release during the ongoing appeals process.
The once celebrated young entrepreneur should have entered her prison sentence in April. However, she then submitted a last-minute request to remain free pending the completion of the appeals process.
But the mother of two has now failed. Judge Davila also ordered in a separate decision Tuesday that Holmes and her former business partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani must pay their fraud victims $452 million in damages.
The founder of the blood testing company Theranos was found guilty of four counts of investor fraud in January 2022 and sentenced to 11 years in prison in November. In December, her lawyers appealed the verdict.
Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 when he was just 19 years old. The company promoted a supposedly revolutionary technology for particularly fast, effective and cheap blood tests. Celebrated as a technology pioneer, the charismatic young entrepreneur won financially strong investors and prominent supporters such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
The 39-year-old himself became a billionaire. Then Wall Street Journal reports revealed that the blood test technology didn’t work at all.
Holmes has always denied that he defrauded investors. She admitted mistakes, but claimed to have believed in the potential of her technology. She also blamed her ex-boyfriend and former business partner Balwani for the scandal. He was also found guilty of fraud and sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison. (sda/afp)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
