Elizabeth Holmes, sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for fraud at the head of the startup Theranos, began serving her sentence in a Texas prison on Tuesday, AFP reported.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) confirmed to AFP that the former businessman had arrived at a federal prison in Bryan, Texas, following reporters’ observations.

In January 2022, after a four-month trial, Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of fraud in connection with fundraising for Theranos, which claimed it could revolutionize the world of medical diagnostics.

She filed several appeals to stay out of jail pending a possible appeal, hoping to overturn her conviction, but they were denied.

At the age of 39, twenty years after founding the startup, she is now behind bars in a “minimum” regime women’s colony.

According to the BOP website, this type of prison has dormitories, a small number of guards and rehabilitation programs.

• Reference: Theranos – How the biggest scam in Silicon Valley history became possible

“Miracle samples” from a drop of blood

Theranos promises faster and cheaper diagnostics than traditional labs, thanks to methods it has touted as revolutionary, allowing multiple tests with very little blood.

But the technology never worked as promised, and the company closed its doors in 2018, hurting investors who poured several hundred million dollars into the company.

Elizabeth Holmes has always defended her integrity, denying that she deliberately tried to deceive investors.

In mid-May, Judge Edward Davila ordered her and former Theranos COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani to jointly pay $452 million to investors.

Among them is Rupert Murdoch, who is owed $125 million by two former partners.

In an interview with the New York Times, published in early May, Elizabeth Holmes explained that even before the damages, she was unable to pay the legal costs, which the prosecution estimated at more than 30 million US dollars.

“I’ll have to work my whole life to pay them back,” she said.

The media reported that in 2019 she married Billy Evans, whose family owns a hotel chain, and has two young children.

The Holmes story captivated the American press because, before her downfall, she embodied a certain image of the innovative Silicon Valley.

In 2014, Forbes estimated Holmes’ fortune at $4.5 billion and called her the youngest female billionaire without an inheritance.

Link:

• Elizabeth Holmes, who inspired the miniseries The Dropout, tried to flee the country after being convicted of fraud