Elizabeth Holmes, once worth $4.5 billion, says she can’t afford to pay victims $250 a month

Lawyers for Elizabeth Holmes are pushing back on the government’s bid for the ex-Theranos CEO to pay victims of her fraud, claiming she won’t be able to afford the payments.

Holmes was convicted of defrauding investors in Theranos and ordered to repay $452 million to victims — $250 a month after she’s released from prison — who include News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

Holmes is jointly liable for the amount with Sunny Balwani, her ex-boyfriend and Theranos’ former COO, who is serving nearly 13 years for his role in the fraud.

The Justice Department last week filed a motion to correct what it called a “clerical error,” as the court filings regarding restitution don’t include a schedule for repayment aside from a $25 monthly payment while Holmes is serving her prison sentence. In their motion, the Justice Department’s lawyers proposed that Holmes pay $250 a month, or at least 10% of her income, once she’s released from prison. 

That’s similar to Balwani’s judgment, which requires him to pay $1,000 a month once he’s out. 

But Holmes’ lawyers pushed back forcefully, citing Holmes’ “limited financial resources.”

“Mr. Balwani’s amended judgment says nothing about what the Court intended for Ms. Holmes’ restitution schedule. Ms. Holmes and Mr. Balwani have different financial resources and the Court has appropriately treated them differently,” they wrote in a filing Monday. 

They noted that while the court fined Balwani $25,000, it did not impose a fine on Holmes.

Holmes, who was worth $4.5 billion at Theranos’ peak, says she lost it all when the company’s valuation collapsed after revelations it was lying about its capabilities. She has claimed in court filings that she has “no assets” and no hope of restarting her career after the Theranos scandal. 

Holmes started serving her sentence last month at a minimum-security facility in Bryan, Texas, leaving behind her husband, hospitality heir William Evans, and their two small children.