Elizabeth Holmes: former billionaire, founder of Theranos, is in prison
14 february 2025 в 06:37
Elizabeth Holmes, a former billionaire once known for her alleged medical breakthroughs that she promoted through her company Theranos, is now in prison. The mother of two children, a 41-year-old woman, is serving time after being accused of conspiring to commit wire fraud following the discovery that the company’s machine, Edison, did not work. Ultimately, she did not detect dangerous diseases as she claimed.
Learn more about the woman who seemed to create a medical revolution out of thin air, only to be disgraced and end up in prison.
Elizabeth Holmes — the founder of Theranos, a company created in 2014 that claimed their machine, Edison, could detect serious diseases such as diabetes and cancer with a simple blood test. A biotechnology entrepreneur born in Washington, she graduated in chemical engineering from Stanford and filed her first patent application for a wearable patch for drug delivery in 2003. A year later, in 2004, she dropped out of the prestigious university to start her consumer health technology startup.
She is also the mother of two children — William, 3 years old, and Invicta, 2 years old, with her husband Billy Evans, whom she married in 2019.
According to the New Yorker, by the end of 2004, the ambitious college dropout had already raised six million dollars from investors, hoping to help develop Theranos. After the company partnered with pharmacy giant Walgreens as convenient blood sample collection centers in stores, her star rose. Appearing on the covers of publishing giants, including Inc, Fortune, and Forbes, only helped her attract even more money. The latter named her the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world, additionally placing Elizabeth at 110th place in the prestigious Forbes 400 ranking for 2014.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, her fortune reached 4.5 billion dollars before her downfall.
Theranos' claims that Edison could detect cancer and diabetes and save lives with a simple finger prick turned out to be completely false. As the former CEO of the company, Elizabeth was imprisoned after pleading guilty to four counts of fraud. Deceiving investors who supported the company caused them to lose millions, further exacerbating her alleged crimes. One count, of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, shattered the false hopes of her ambitious investors. Three other counts were related to wire fraud.
Stephanie Hinds, a US prosecutor, did not hesitate to comment on Elizabeth’s downfall. «The sentences in this case reflect Miss Holmes' guilt in this major fraud with investors, and now she must face punishment for her crimes», - she said, reading the January 2022 verdict, according to NPR.
Elizabeth’s sentence is 11 years and 3 months. She is currently serving it in a prison in Texas. According to PEOPLE, she will be released in 2032.
In a letter to the judge, obtained by the publication, Billy once expressed his disappointment with the long term of her imprisonment and asked for a reduction. «My heart is broken at the thought of spending any days away from Liz, about the future in which my son will grow up with a relationship with his mother behind glass, armed with guards», - he said. «The weight of time without her is difficult for me to understand».
According to NBC News, her initial sentence was reduced by two years in 2023 for good behavior
Learn more about the woman who seemed to create a medical revolution out of thin air, only to be disgraced and end up in prison.
Elizabeth Holmes — the founder of Theranos, a company created in 2014 that claimed their machine, Edison, could detect serious diseases such as diabetes and cancer with a simple blood test. A biotechnology entrepreneur born in Washington, she graduated in chemical engineering from Stanford and filed her first patent application for a wearable patch for drug delivery in 2003. A year later, in 2004, she dropped out of the prestigious university to start her consumer health technology startup.
She is also the mother of two children — William, 3 years old, and Invicta, 2 years old, with her husband Billy Evans, whom she married in 2019.
According to the New Yorker, by the end of 2004, the ambitious college dropout had already raised six million dollars from investors, hoping to help develop Theranos. After the company partnered with pharmacy giant Walgreens as convenient blood sample collection centers in stores, her star rose. Appearing on the covers of publishing giants, including Inc, Fortune, and Forbes, only helped her attract even more money. The latter named her the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world, additionally placing Elizabeth at 110th place in the prestigious Forbes 400 ranking for 2014.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, her fortune reached 4.5 billion dollars before her downfall.
Theranos' claims that Edison could detect cancer and diabetes and save lives with a simple finger prick turned out to be completely false. As the former CEO of the company, Elizabeth was imprisoned after pleading guilty to four counts of fraud. Deceiving investors who supported the company caused them to lose millions, further exacerbating her alleged crimes. One count, of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, shattered the false hopes of her ambitious investors. Three other counts were related to wire fraud.
Stephanie Hinds, a US prosecutor, did not hesitate to comment on Elizabeth’s downfall. «The sentences in this case reflect Miss Holmes' guilt in this major fraud with investors, and now she must face punishment for her crimes», - she said, reading the January 2022 verdict, according to NPR.
Elizabeth’s sentence is 11 years and 3 months. She is currently serving it in a prison in Texas. According to PEOPLE, she will be released in 2032.
In a letter to the judge, obtained by the publication, Billy once expressed his disappointment with the long term of her imprisonment and asked for a reduction. «My heart is broken at the thought of spending any days away from Liz, about the future in which my son will grow up with a relationship with his mother behind glass, armed with guards», - he said. «The weight of time without her is difficult for me to understand».
According to NBC News, her initial sentence was reduced by two years in 2023 for good behavior
© Zhinobaeva Margarita
