Theranos CEO begins 11-year prison sentence

Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes reported to a Texas prison Tuesday after a jury convicted her last year of duping people to invest in her company. A federal court sentenced Holmes to 11 years on four counts of wire fraud. She and her partner, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, claimed they developed a revolutionary medical device that could run a litany of tests within hours using just a few drops of blood. But when the device hit clinics in 2013, people testified that they received inaccurate results.

What has Holmes said? During her trial, Holmes admitted making mistakes at Theranos but denied committing any crimes. She and Balwani lived together while running Theranos, and Holmes claimed Balwani sexually and emotionally abused her. She claimed the abuse clouded her thinking. Balwani has denied Holmes’ accusations. After her convictions, Holmes tried to delay her prison stay, arguing that she needed to care for her three-month-old daughter and a one-year-old son. She’s currently appealing her conviction.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Sharon Dierberger’s review in WORLD Magazine of a documentary on Holmes.