Elizabeth Holmes gets a delay in her prison date

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes received a postponement on her surrender to federal prison in connection with an appeal of her case filed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The former biotech entrepreneur and new mother was ordered by a federal district court to surrender her freedom to federal prison officials on April 27. In a court filing Wednesday, her defense lawyers said that an appeal of her case filed with the 9th Circuit on Tuesday temporarily shelved the district court's order.

"Please take notice that defendant Elizabeth Holmes’ Bureau of Prisons reporting date of April 27, 2023 has been automatically stayed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by operation of the Ninth Circuit Rules," the court filing states.

Because Holmes was on bail at the time the motion was filed, the document says, her bail automatically remains in effect until the appellate court rules on her motion. By law, an appeal stays the requirement to surrender when the court has not ruled on a motion to remain free on bail.

The appellate court has not yet said when it will issue an order on the motion to remain free on bail. The court denied a similar motion for Holmes' co-defendant Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who was her former boyfriend and Theranos COO. Balwani has since reported to prison.

Holmes, 39, who dazzled investors and media with the promise of her now defunct blood-testing startup, was convicted in January 2021 on four counts of criminally defrauding investors. The jury decision came five and a half years after an expose by The Wall Street Journal revealed Holmes had overhyped Theranos’ “finger stick” technology.

Wealthy investors and drug store giant Walgreens poured nearly a billion dollars into the company, which Holmes started in 2003 as a Stanford University dropout. At its peak, Theranos was valued at $9 billion, making Holmes at the time the world’s first self-made female billionaire.

San Jose federal district court judge Edward Davila, who presided over Holmes’ case, sentenced Holmes to 11 years and three months in prison. And he later denied Holmes’ request to remain free on bail while an appeal of her case plays out in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Holmes former boyfriend and former Theranos president and COO, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, was tried by a separate jury and convicted on 12 counts of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy. He surrendered to federal prison to serve his sentence on April 21.

During sentencing, Davila characterized Holmes’ legal battle — one of the most closely watched in Silicon Valley history — as one that could serve as a lesson for future founders.

“I suppose we step back and ask what is the pathology of fraud? Is it the refusal to accept responsibility or express contrition in any way?" Judge Edward Davila said. "Perhaps that is the cautionary tale that will go forward from this case."

At sentencing, Davila also referenced letters from Holmes’ supporters who highlighted that venture capitalists had grown accustomed to startup failures like Theranos and considered it "normal" to lose 90% of the funds put at risk.

"One thing that was missing from those letters...the letters did not say anything about, nor did they endorse, failure by fraud," Davila said.

Minutes before learning her sentence inside a packed courtroom, Holmes had addressed the court.

"I stand before you taking responsibility for Theranos,” she said. “I loved Theranos. It was my life’s work. My team meant the world to me. They wanted to make a difference in the world. I am devastated by my failings.”

Holmes’ prison sentence handed down by the district court represents approximately 14% of the maximum allowable time of 80 years that sentencing guidelines technically permit for her four fraud convictions. Each of those charges allowed for a sentence of up to 20 years, along with $250,000 in fines, plus restitution.

Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on Twitter @alexiskweed.

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