Theranos felon Elizabeth Holmes loses again in court, options for early freedom narrow
A federal appeals court shot down Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' latest bid to overturn her felony fraud conviction and prison sentence, narrowing her options for early freedom to a Hail Mary appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or a presidential pardon.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which in a three-judge decision already denied an appeal by Holmes, on Thursday rejected her attempt to get a rehearing by a full panel of judges.
The three judges who had nixed her appeal in February voted unanimously Thursday to deny the "en banc" hearing by 11 judges that Holmes had sought via an April court filing. Her lawyers had argued that the three judges had been illogical on one point, confused on another, and made factual mistakes when they heard her case.
Holmes, 41, was convicted by a jury on four counts of felony criminal fraud in early 2022 for conning investors in her now-defunct Palo Alto blood-testing startup Theranos out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Her trial judge in San Jose U.S. District Court, Edward Davila, sentenced her to 11 years and three months in prison. She started her prison term in May 2023, after Davila denied her bid to delay her incarceration.
Shortly after her sentencing, Holmes appealed, arguing that Davila improperly allowed some testimony and improperly prohibited other testimony, and let jurors hear about a regulator's report that could have misled them.
Holmes is serving her sentence at a minimum-security federal prison in Texas, where as inmate No. 24965-111, she has slashed more than two years off her term, likely through good behavior and taking programs. She is scheduled to be released in February 2032.
The Ninth Circuit's decision closes off Holmes' avenues for early freedom to an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court - which legal experts say is unlikely to hear her case - or a pardon from President Donald Trump. Her lawyers did not immediately respond to questions about her plans.
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