Disgraced biotech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes has arrived at a Texas federal prison to begin her 11-year, three-month sentence for defrauding investors of her defunct blood testing startup, Theranos.
Press and photographers stationed outside the women’s detention camp in Bryan, Texas captured what appeared to be Holmes exiting a gray SUV with New York State plates at about 12:30 a.m. local time and entering the facility, flanked by facility personnel. Shortly afterward, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to the Associated Press that Holmes was indeed in custody at the facility, FPC Bryan, which is about 100 miles northwest of Houston.
The facility houses about 655 female inmates who, according to The New York Times, must work in the cafeteria or a production facility, with wages starting at $1.15 an hour. Like other inmates, Holmes will wear khaki pants and shirts issued by the prison in pastel green, gray or white during her stay. She will not have internet access, but can buy a radio or an MP3 player from the prison commissioner and listen to “non-explicit” music. When she is not working or listening to prison-approved music, she can participate in leisure activities such as “table games” and crafts.
In January 2022, Holmes was convicted of four counts of defrauding Theranos investors for falsely claiming that her decent blood testing device could run hundreds of tests with just a tiny drop of blood. In reality, the device never really worked. Last November, the judge in her case, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, sentenced her to 11 years and three months in prison — a hefty sentence designed to send a message to Silicon Valley about the dangers of hubris and the “fake it till you make the” ethos.
Holmes is appealing her conviction, but the prospects of overturning it appear dim. She also requested to remain free on bail during the appeals process, a request rejected by both Davila and a three-judge panel before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, where she is appealing against her conviction. On May 17, Davila Holmes ordered to report to jail no later than 2 p.m. today, May 30.
Davila also ordered Holmes, along with her ex-boyfriend and former Theranos president, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, to pay $452 million in restitution to defrauded investors. The two, who were tried separately, are jointly responsible for repaying the sum. Balwani, who was convicted of 12 counts of defrauding investors, patients and doctors, has already begun his nearly 13-year prison sentence.
Holmes reports to jail today, leaving behind two small children and their father, her new partner, Billy Evans. The couple reportedly have a boy, William, born in July 2021 and a three-month-old daughter named Invicta, which is Latin for “invincible.”
Holmes’ children can visit their mother in person on weekends and federal holidays. Holmes may keep them on her lap. They are also allowed to make and video calls, but calls are limited to 15 minutes each for a total of 300 minutes per month.
The Times notes that three women escaped FPC Bryan in 2017, one of whom has not been found.
