15 Years Sought for Elizabeth Holmes in Theranos Fraud Case

Elizabeth Holmes has been sentenced to seven years in prison and must pay $500,000 for her part in the $700 million Theranos fraud case—but prosecutors aren’t stopping there. They want another ten years tacked on to her sentence, as well as $800 million, which would be given to investors who were deceived by the former Silicon Valley darling’s scheme to seem more successful than she was with her blood-testing company. If Holmes is given this additional 15-year sentence, she will face the longest prison sentence ever imposed on a woman in U.S. history.

1) Introduction

Elizabeth Holmes, who was once worth billions of dollars and seen as a visionary entrepreneur, is now facing charges of wire fraud. And, federal prosecutors want her punished with more than 14 years in prison--which would be the harshest sentence ever given to a white-collar defendant. A US attorney said she had the chance to put together an innovative fraud while another said it was obvious from day one that she was lying. 

The reason behind the government's push for this punishment appears to come from over 500 bogus blood tests performed by Theranos. The scandal has been detailed extensively by the TheEpochTimes, epoch times news, and epoch times subscription offer so we will not get into it here.

2) Background on the case

Elizabeth Holmes, founder, and CEO of the now-defunct company Theranos was indicted on nine counts of fraud. The indictment alleges that she lied to investors, doctors, and patients about the accuracy and efficacy of her blood-testing technology. It also alleges that she falsely inflated her net worth to $4.5 billion by claiming that Theranos was worth $9 billion when it was really valued at less than $100 million. If convicted, prosecutors seek an epoch time's sentence of 15 years with e poch times served under house arrest and try epoch probation, as well as a fine of $250K per count or twice the gross loss caused by the offense with restitution.

3) The prosecutors' argument

The lawyer claims that Ms. Holmes committed wire fraud by lying about her company's technological breakthrough and misled investors, doctors, and patients. According to prosecutors, she deserves a fifteen-year prison sentence and a lifetime ban from the medical profession. We don't know how they came up with the fifteen years though because they did not mention how much time was served in prison so far and it is unclear when she will be sentenced; there also is no information on what sentence restrictions she would face should she return to Canada or stay in America as an American citizen. Whatever happens to her sentencing, it does seem like we are watching an epoch time Canada epoch times login epoch news of a life unraveling, both for Ms.

4) The defense's argument

When considering the era of epoch times,our justice system must bee mindful and realistic about its punishments. As it stands today, our healthcare system does not operate at a high enough standard to take into account the broader cost for society. Moreover, Elizabeth Holmes has been instrumental in her efforts to try to fix these issues by forcing change on outdated institutions. What we need is an inspiring innovator to keep pushing. She doesn't deserve imprisonment with a sentence as stiff as 15 years.

5) The potential sentence

The epoch times en Espanol, a prosecutor on the case has filed a motion to seek up to 15 years of imprisonment for Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and former CEO of Theranos. The charges are mail fraud and wire fraud. If convicted, this will be the first time someone had been sentenced to a decade or more.

The news comes after it was announced that the SEC had won its civil suit against her and she was banned from operating as an officer or director of any public company. Forbes magazine has downgraded her net worth from $4.5 billion to nothing because it is now impossible to know what her stake in Theranos was worth at one point.

6) The implications of the case

If convicted of wire fraud, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice, founder Elizabeth Holmes faces the possibility of many years behind bars. Once the darling of Silicon Valley, her personal stake in Theranos has plummeted with the revelation that she perpetrated a multimillion-dollar fraud against investors. Recently, federal prosecutors filed court papers seeking a 15-year sentence. 

The discussion on whether or not more oversight is necessary has also made headlines over concerns about the abuse of power by wealthy CEOs who are not restricted by company boards. For now, everyone can subscribe to this epoch-time subscription offer: I hope you don't buy shares in my company!