Holmes granted new prison date following rejection of bail request

Posted: May 17, 2023 / 11:12 AM PDT

Updated: May 17, 2023 / 11:35 AM PDT

Attorneys for convicted Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes filed a motion Wednesday asking a federal judge to set May 30 as the date on which she will have to surrender to federal prison authorities. The court has officially accepted her request, according to court documents.

The motion, which is not opposed by federal prosecutors, cites Holmes’ need to “make preparations,” including “medical and child-care arrangements in anticipation of beginning her 135-month sentence.”

Wednesday’s filing followed a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Tuesday rejecting Holmes’ bid to stay out of prison while she appeals her conviction for wire fraud. In a one-page order, the 9th Circuit wrote that Holmes had not raised a “substantial question” regarding the conduct of her trial or shown that any trial errors were likely to result in reversal or a shorter prison sentence.

In January 2022, a jury convicted Holmes of misleading and defrauding investors about the capabilities of Theranos’ blood-testing technology. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila had ordered Holmes to surrender to federal prison authorities on April 27 of this year, but that order was automatically suspended while the higher court decided whether to grant the bail request.

Davila previously gave Holmes’ co-conspirator and former lover Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani two weeks to get ready for prison after the 9th Circuit similarly rejected his bail request.

Holmes’s appeal, per the 9th Circuit’s order, will continue on its original schedule and will likely take several months or a year to be resolved.