Elizabeth Holmes, 38, founder of the biotechnology startup Theranos, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison this Friday (18) in a California court.
The former Silicon Valley star was found guilty of tricking investors into putting money into the company that promised to revolutionize blood testing but lacked the technology to do so.
Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, Calif., sentenced Holmes to three counts of investor fraud and one count of conspiracy. In January, she was convicted by a jury after a three-month trial.
Holmes, dressed in a dark blouse and black skirt, hugged her parents and her companion after the sentence was passed. During the hearing, she broke down in tears saying that she was “devastated” by her failures and would have done many things differently if given the chance.
“I felt a deep shame for what people went through because I failed them,” he said.
The judge ordered Holmes to begin serving his sentence in April. Her lawyers are expected to ask the judge to allow her to remain free on bail pending appeals.
Prosecutors asked the court that the businesswoman be sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to return US$ 800 million to the victims.
Holmes’ attorney, Kevin Downey, pleaded for clemency for Holmes, saying that, unlike someone who committed a “great crime”, she was not motivated by greed. A request was made for a lesser sentence of 18 months under house arrest followed by community service.
Prosecutors said at trial that Holmes misrepresented Theranos’ technology and finances by saying his miniaturized machine was capable of running a series of tests on a few drops of blood.
The company, however, secretly relied on conventional machines from other companies to perform tests on patients, prosecutors said.
Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 when he was just 19 years old. In just a few years, she raised funds from high-profile investors such as Safeway supermarkets, Walgreens drugstore chain and former US Secretary of State George Shultz.
At its peak, the company was valued at nearly $10 billion, and Holmes, the majority shareholder, ran it with a fortune of $3.6 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
But Theranos collapsed after a report by The Wall Street Journal in 2015 revealed that the technology developed by the company did not work as promised.
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