Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the once-celebrated Silicon Valley startup Theranos, has faced a significant setback in her fraud case. The 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals rejected her request to revisit her 2022 conviction appeal.
The 9th Circuit’s decision denied Holmes’ plea for a rehearing before a panel of three judges who had originally upheld her conviction. Additionally, the court remarked that circuit judges did not ask for a full court review of the appeal. As it stands, Holmes has only one remaining option: to appeal to the Supreme Court for consideration of her case.
In January 2022, Holmes was convicted on four counts of wire fraud for misleading investors about Theranos’ blood testing technology, which she founded in 2003. The company, once held in high regard, closed in 2018. In January 2023, Holmes received a sentence of over 11 years.
Along with Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who received a 13-year prison sentence for fraud, Holmes was ordered to pay $452 million in restitution. Balwani, also her former partner, began serving his sentence in April 2023.
Holmes started her prison term at the women’s federal facility in Bryan, Texas, on May 30, 2023. Her sentence has been reduced twice since then—by about two years in July 2023 and an additional four months in May 2024. During the trial period, she gave birth to two children.
Holmes’s trajectory from rising star to convicted fraudster captures significant attention, emphasizing the crucial need for honesty and transparency in the tech realm. The Theranos debacle serves as a cautionary tale for entrepreneurs and investors about the necessity of thorough due diligence and the repercussions of deceptive claims.
The refusal of the 9th Circuit to rehear her appeal limits Holmes’ legal avenues. Should she decide to appeal to the Supreme Court, that would be her final chance to contest her conviction. However, it remains unclear whether the Supreme Court will accept her case, given the volume of petitions they receive each year and the limited number they choose to hear.
