Sentenced to 11 years and 3 months, term starts from the 30th
Inmates say, "Some want to be friends with Homes"
Elizabeth Holmes, the former CEO of Theranos who orchestrated the largest fraud in the history of Silicon Valley, is drawing significant attention from both inmates and correctional officers as she prepares to begin her prison sentence.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 28th (local time) that “Holmes, who was found guilty in the first trial, will start her sentence on the 30th at the Bryan Federal Prison Camp (FPC) located northwest of Houston, Texas.”
Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 while studying chemistry at Stanford University and made headlines by announcing that she had developed a device capable of diagnosing over 200 diseases from just a few drops of blood taken from a fingertip. Leveraging connections with influential figures, she raised $945 million in investment (approximately 1.2 trillion KRW) and ranked 110th on Forbes’ list of the 400 richest Americans in 2014.
As the youngest billionaire, she was often called the “female Steve Jobs” due to her preference for wearing black turtleneck shirts reminiscent of Apple’s founder. She was also ranked first among “America’s self-made women.” However, her rapid downfall began in 2015 when the media exposed that Theranos’ technology was essentially non-existent.
In June 2018, Holmes was indicted on various fraud charges alongside her former partner and co-founder Ramesh Sunny Balwani (57). Last November, she was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison in the first trial but was not immediately incarcerated due to pregnancy and other reasons.
The Bryan FPC, where Holmes will be imprisoned, is a minimum-security facility primarily housing white-collar criminals, minor drug offenders, and undocumented immigrants. Currently, 655 female inmates are incarcerated there.
WSJ reported, “Earlier this year, the prison library acquired the book ‘Bad Blood,’ which chronicles the rise and fall of Theranos,” adding that “this has heightened inmates’ anticipation of Holmes’ arrival.” Tasha Wade, an inmate, said, “Some people want to be friends with Holmes, but more people find it unbelievable that she only received an 11-year sentence despite taking that much money.”
Violent incidents involving inmates or correctional officers at this facility are rare. At most, there have been minor scuffles such as slapping or hair-pulling. There have been no reported cases of correctional officers abusing inmates. However, a sexual assault incident between inmates was reported once in 2020.
New inmates work in the kitchen for the first 90 days, earning 12 cents per hour, which is considered the toughest job in the facility. They may also be assigned to telemarketing work at a call center operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), but inmates convicted of communication and internet fraud, like Holmes, are excluded from this.
Correctional officers have also shown special interest in Holmes’ incarceration. WSJ reported, “One officer said in a conversation with colleagues that he is looking forward to ordering Holmes to clean pots thoroughly.”
During her incarceration, Holmes will be allowed to see her 22-month-old son and her newborn daughter, who was born while she was in custody, every weekend. According to BOP regulations, children under 10 years old may sit on the laps of their incarcerated parents. Breastfeeding by female inmates is also permitted.
Meanwhile, Holmes’ fraud saga was adapted into an eight-episode original series titled “The Dropout” on Disney+ last year. Amanda Seyfried played the role of Holmes.
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