03/01/20233 By Peyton Benbow
Elizabeth Holmes gave birth to her second child with her partner and hotel heir, William (Billy) Evans, as confirmed by her lawyer. Holmes cited her newborn child as another reason to delay the start of her prison sentence.
In Nov. 2022, Holmes was sentenced to 135 months at a minimum-security female prison, Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, while pregnant with her first child with Evans. She was ordered to surrender on April 27, 2023.
Holmes, 39, was the founder and CEO of Theranos, a consumer healthcare company, for over ten years until The Wall Street Journal reported in Oct. 2015 an account comprised of whistleblowers to detail the inaccuracy and exaggeration of their patents and devices. Following a hearing with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission in 2018 that exposed exaggerated claims of Theranos blood testing technology accuracy, a federal grand jury indicted Holmes and Theranos Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Balwani.
It was charged that the pair had knowledge that their blood-testing devices were not as effective or accurate as they marketed. Holmes was convicted on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Balwani was convicted of 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Upon disclosing that Holmes gave birth to a second child last week, her lawyers argue that this should further delay her prison sentence, preceding her upcoming appeals hearing on Mar. 17. The filing did not disclose the date of birth or gender of the baby.
Holmes has been on bail for four years, and her lawyers argue that her clean record and young children should further delay her 11-year, 3-month sentence. They deny prosecutors’ claims that she is a flight risk, stating she has strong ties to her community. In the court filing last week, they wrote, “She is the mother of two very young children; she has close relationships with family and friends, many of who submitted letters at sentencing vouching for her good character; and she volunteers with a rape crisis and counseling organization.”
Her defense team insists that the trial was overrun with errors that will lead to her conviction being overturned. A hearing is scheduled for Mar. 17—the team will request a further delay of her surrender to prison while they appeal the conviction.