ReportWire

Tag: Elizabeth Holmes

  • JPMorgan Chase wants out of paying $115M legal tab for convicted fraudsters

    [ad_1]

    NEW YORK (AP) — For nearly three years, JPMorgan Chase has picking up the legal tab of Charlie Javice and Olivier Amar, the two convicted fraudsters who sold their financial aid startup Frank to the bank.

    But the two have racked up an astronomical, nine-figure legal bill that far exceeds any reasonable amount the two may have needed for their defense, the bank said in a court filing late Friday. Chase shouldn’t have to pay and its agreement as part of the startup purchase to shoulder the costs should end, the bank argued.

    According to the filing, Javice’s team of lawyers across five law firms have billed JPMorgan approximately $60.1 million in legal fees and expenses, while Amar’s lawyers have billed the bank roughly $55.2 million in fees.

    In total, the bank alleges Javice and Amar’s lawyers have racked up legal fees of $115 million, with one law firm receiving $35.6 million in reimbursements alone. In comparison, Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted of defrauding investors in the Theranos case, reportedly ended up with a legal bill of roughly $30 million.

    The bank would be “irreparably injured” if the court does not put an end to “abusive billing,” the bank said. Javice and her lawyers have treated the process “like a blank check,” Chase said.

    Javice, 33, was convicted in March of duping the banking giant when it bought her company, called Frank, in the summer of 2021. She made false records that made it seem like Frank had over 4 million customers when it had fewer than 300,000. Amar was convicted of the same charges.

    Early in the case, a Delaware court ruled that the bank was required to advance Javice and Amar for any legal fees, which was part of the bank’s agreement when Frank was acquired in 2021.

    Part of Javice’s legal team is Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, who is also the lawyer who has previously represented Elon Musk. Spiro did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

    A law firm representing Amar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    “The legal fees sought by Charlie Javice and Olivier Amar are patently excessive and egregious. We look forward to sharing details of this abuse with the court in coming weeks,” said Pablo Rodriguez, a spokesman for the bank

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Oliver Quick Joins the Millennial “Villain” Hall of Fame

    Oliver Quick Joins the Millennial “Villain” Hall of Fame

    [ad_1]

    While pop culture has been eager to put a spotlight on a number of real-life millennial villains (including Mark Zuckerberg via The Social Network, Elizabeth Holmes via The Dropout and Anna Delvey via Inventing Anna) in recent years, Emerald Fennell decided to create an “evil” millennial to outdo them all (even, perhaps, fellow fictional millennials Danni Sanders from Not Okay and Dory Sief from Search Party). His name, of course, is Oliver Quick, and he’s portrayed with razor-sharp villainousness by none other than current millennial golden boy Barry Keoghan. Fashioning him in the dual role of protagonist/antagonist, Fennell’s ode to Evelyn Waugh, Saltburn, commences in fall of 2006, when Oliver is just beginning his tenure at Oxford. 

    An outcast from the get-go, his only “comrade” by default becomes Michael Gavey (Ewan Mitchell), who calls Oliver out as a fellow “Norman No-Mates” when he sits down across from him at that first posh-looking dinner in the dining hall. Michael’s social ineptitude and obsession with showing off his mathematical prowess, however, makes Oliver have a Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald) in The Breakfast Club epiphany when she says, “I know it’s detention, but…I don’t think I belong in here.” Nor does Oliver feel that he belongs with someone so lame and unglamorous as Michael. Thus, by Christmas, it seems he can endure no more of this bullshit, this social exile and decides to take matters into his own hands to deviate from the outsider path he’s on.

    This, indeed, is what the viewer unearths by the third-act reveal. That his entire “happenstance” encounter with the ultra popular and privileged Felix Catton (Jacon Elordi) was just the first in a series of his machinations to cut Felix and his ilk down to size. After all, as he later admits to Felix’s mother, Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), on the deathbed he created for her, “I hated him.” He then adds, “I hated all of you.” This statement seeming to apply not just to the Cattons specifically, but all rich people in general. Particularly for their lack of hard work (because, needless to say, it’s not that hard to “inherit”). Whereas, as Oliver points out to a comatose Elspeth, he actually knows how to work, and did just that in order to procure the palatial Saltburn residence. Hence, all that preplanning and manufacturing of scenarios to get into Felix’s good graces so as to be invited to Saltburn in the first place. And for the entire summer no less. 

    A summer that would initially seem so carefree not just because Oliver found himself living as a courtesan in a modern-day Versailles scenario, with Felix acting as Louis and Marie rolled into one, but because it was the summer of 2007. An idyllic period (unless you were Britney Spears) right before the financial crisis of 2008 that would not only affect millennials freshly graduating from college for years to come on the job prospect scene, but also force rich people to “rebrand” in a way that has been the gold standard ever since: highlighting how hard they work for their money. This despite everyone, Oliver included, knowing full well that one does not actually “work” for generational wealth (no matter how many cookware lines Paris Hilton puts out to prove she does “so much,” ignoring the fact that, yeah, in order to do so much, you need some fuckin’ startup capital). It’s simply the fortunate boon that comes with having one family member many decades back who happened to be at the right place at the right time, getting in on the ground floor of some enterprise that was then new and managing to monopolize the industry by any forceful and unjust means necessary (see also: the railroad barons known as the Big Four). This is what clearly vexes Oliver to no end, and the reason why he feels no compunction for his long game con. 

    In fact, he even blames Elspeth and her rich kind for their “misfortune” in coming across a “predator” such as him by taunting, “You made it so easy. Spoiled dogs sleeping belly-up. No natural predators.” Then correcting, “Well, almost none.” And oh, how well Oliver played the part of “prey” himself. Or at least “innocent” and “wayward” poor boy. Allowing himself to blend in even if still standing out as a graceless member of the “low class” (and, despite the Cattons not knowing Oliver is actually an upper middle classer, they would undoubtedly still view that category as one and the same with all the rest of the rabble). 

    The significance of the mid-00s time period, for Fennell, isn’t just about the fact that she’s a millennial who lived through its heyday as well, but about showcasing the dawning of an era wherein the “millennial grift”—consisting primarily of building one’s identity on a house of cards—first began to form (as it did for Elizabeth Holmes circa 2004). This being founded on the bedrock of pretending to be someone you’re not. Of posing as something or someone that will appeal to a surprisingly naive mark. And in the germinal age of social media (hell, for most of 2006, Facebook was still reserved solely for college students with Harvard email accounts), “becoming” someone else, Mr. Ripley-style (and, obviously, Fennell owes a great debt to The Talented Mr. Ripley, in addition to Waugh, for this story, too), was a cinch. Or, at the bare minimum, much more facile than it is now.

    So sure, the summer of 2007 was a carefree one. Not just for a little millennial grifting, but overall as well. ‘Twas the summer of Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad, Justice’s Cross, Kate Nash’s Made of Bricks and M.I.A.’s Kala. And, of course, the entirety of the film is steeped in other millennial pop culture of the day—from Felix’s cousin, Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe), wearing a “Dump Him” t-shirt à la Britney in 2002 (right after her much-discussed and speculated-upon breakup with Justin Timberlake) to the entire band of youths on the premises (Farleigh, Felix, Oliver and Venetia [Alison Oliver]) reading the final installment in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, that was released in July of that summer. 

    Alas, as the adage goes, “Nothing gold can stay.” Or, more to the point, nothing gold-tone can keep its shine. This means Oliver. Though it is only Felix’s sister, Venetia, who really comes to understand what her family hath wrought in choosing to allow an interloper like Oliver into their home. So it is that she points her finger at him and announces the millennial mantra, “Stranger danger” (or, in her case, “Stranger fucking danger”) while talking to Oliver drunkenly in the bathtub. This being the phrase oft repeated by parents and other authority figures during millennial childhood that it’s an ironic wonder that so many services of the present are contingent upon trusting total strangers (e.g., Airbnb, Uber). As Felix so blindly trusted Oliver and his pack of lies wielded manipulatively to gain access to the precious Saltburn castle. Almost as though he had no idea that just because someone is a member of your birth cohort doesn’t mean they won’t fuck you over as badly as the older generations have already. 

    As for the final, now illustrious scene of Oliver swinging his dick (not fake, by the way) around throughout Saltburn to the tune of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s apropos “Murder on the Dancefloor,” some might take issue with the flagrancy of such “nefariousness.” But the point, of course, is to emphasize that the rich themselves never felt a shred of guilt about how they amassed their own wealth, so why should someone like Oliver, who knows there’s no such thing as getting rich “honestly” (or without bloodshed-filled exploitation)? What’s more, the intensification of lusting after wealth without “working for it” was a phenomenon that crested as millennials came of age. Suddenly faced with the bleak reality that their own hard work, and the bill of goods they were sold by baby boomers about how it would ensure “prosperity” (or at least home ownership), was for nothing.

    And since that proved to be the “reward” for “obeying,” why not just take what one wanted by force and through any means necessary? The same way the forebears of the currently wealthy already did (and what the currently wealthy still do to ensure the proliferation of that wealth down the generational line). This, ultimately, is why Fennell succeeds in making her “millennial villain” come across more as a byproduct of the failure of capitalism than anything else. In which case, one must ask: villain or victim?

    [ad_2]

    Genna Rivieccio

    Source link

  • Elizabeth Holmes And ‘Real Housewives’ Star Jen Shah Have ‘Bonded’ In Prison

    Elizabeth Holmes And ‘Real Housewives’ Star Jen Shah Have ‘Bonded’ In Prison

    [ad_1]

    Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has reportedly made friends with ex-Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City Star Jen Shah in prison, with Shah’s reps claiming “they’re both rehabilitating and have bonded over being on this journey of positive change.” What do you think?

    “Bad move. You’re supposed to beat down the first Real Housewife you see.”

    Mira Stanton, Freelance Affixer

    Ron DeSantis Announces He Will Live As Slave For One Year To Prove It Not Bad

    “Aw, prison sounds nice.”

    Bryce Shapiro, Pet Clothier

    “Just tell me what channel it’s on.”

    Newel Mishra, Systems Analyst

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • From ’30 Under 30′ to Fraud: The Dark Side of Early Success | Entrepreneur

    From ’30 Under 30′ to Fraud: The Dark Side of Early Success | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    In June, Nate Paul, an investor once regarded as a “real estate prodigy,” was indicted on eight felony charges for allegedly making false statements on loan applications, which ultimately led to banks loaning the investor over $170 million. According to the indictment, in one application, Paul claimed to have an account with $31.6 million in cash, when in reality the account in question had less than $500,000. Paul’s alleged violations took place between March 2017 and April 2018.

    In 2017, Paul was named in Forbes Magazine’s much sought-after list of “30 Under 30,” a compilation that pays homage to those who have made remarkable strides in the business world before the age of 31. However, his recent indictment isn’t just a one-off situation wherein a businessman turned out to be a possible con.

    Paul, who pleaded not guilty to the charges and awaits trial, has joined the infamous group of “30 Under 30” honorees who were praised by the public for their early success — before authorities discovered the illicit shortcuts that got them there.

    Since 2011, the magazine has used the annual list to celebrate and honor entrepreneurs who have excelled in their fields early in their careers. The company thoroughly vets each of the nearly 100,000 nominees annually. As the Guardian’s Betsy Reed notes, “The problem here isn’t Forbes, the problem is the vision of success that we’ve been sold and the fetishizing of youth. 30 Under 30 isn’t just a list, it’s a mentality: a pressure to achieve great things before youth slips away from you.”

    So, next time you’re feeling discouraged about not reaching your goals by a certain age, remember these entrepreneurs-turned-felons who were once honored for their accomplishments in their youth. And those accomplishments? They wouldn’t have been possible without cutting corners and crossing legal lines.

    Sam Bankman-Fried

    Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was named to the list in 2021 for Finance.

    Bankman-Fried started Alameda Research in 2017, and later founded FTX in 2019, which was valued at $32 billion in 2022. But in November of that year, FTX filed for bankruptcy after struggling to raise funds and facing a liquidity crisis, and U.S. prosecutors accused him of fraud. He was arrested in the Bahamas in December 2022 and charged with defrauding investors in a scheme that led to the bankruptcy of his company.

    In February, four additional charges were added to his docket for conspiring to make over 300 illegal political donations. Currently, Bankman-Fried is out on bail, living at his parents’ house, and awaiting trial (which is scheduled for October).

    Related: Who Is FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried and What Did He Do? Everything You Need to Know About the Disgraced Crypto King

    Elizabeth Holmes

    Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos in 2003, a company that promised a revolutionary blood testing technology, and was once hailed as the world’s “youngest self-made female billionaire.” The company caught the attention of high-profile investors and companies (many of which never even saw the technology before investing) and raked up partnerships with big-name brands like Safeway and Walgreens.

    Holmes was never officially on the “30 Under 30” list, however, she did headline the “Under 30 Summit” in 2015, where she also accepted the “Under 30 Doers Award” for her work in the healthcare industry and the potential impact of her company’s technology.

    However, just weeks after accepting her Doers Award, Holmes became the subject of an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, raising questions about the legitimacy of her technology. What ensued was nothing short of one mishap after another: failed lab inspections, a slew of lawsuits, and the not-to-be-forgotten net worth dip of $4.5 billion to $0 in 2016.

    Finally, in 2018, it was revealed that the technology simply didn’t work, the company collapsed, and Holmes was charged by the SEC with “massive fraud,” alleging Holmes knowingly misled investors and the public.

    Elizabeth Holmes speaking during the 2015 Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco, California, in 2015. David Paul Morris | Getty Images.

    After nearly a year of delays due to the pandemic, Holmes’ trial began in 2021, and she was ultimately convicted on four counts of fraud in 2022 and sentenced to 11 years in prison. After a request for a new trial was denied in November 2022, Holmes began her sentence in May 2023. Through it all, Holmes has maintained her innocence. She is currently serving time in prison in Bryan, Texas.

    Holmes’ story of deceit has been the subject of widespread media coverage, including a 2019 HBO documentary, The Inventor, and 2022 Hulu miniseries, The Dropout (for which Amanda Seyfried won an Emmy for her portrayal of the disgraced founder).

    Related: I Worked Side By Side With Elizabeth Holmes. She Seemed Like a Visionary, but We Were All Duped — and It’s a Comfort to See Justice Served.

    Charlie Javice

    Charlie Javice, known for her college financial planning startup Frank, was indicted in May 2023 for wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy charges. Javice’s alleged crimes center on exaggerating the value of her startup during its acquisition by JPMorgan Chase in 2021.

    Javice was named to the list in 2019 in the category of Finance after founding her company Frank, which aimed to help students apply for loans more efficiently.

    Prosecutors claim that she misled the bank by fabricating data and inflating the number of Frank customers. Javice allegedly asked her director of engineering to create fake data, but when he refused, she hired a data scientist to generate a spreadsheet with millions of false user accounts for the $175 million acquisition, and JPMorgan ultimately acquired the app.

    However, in November 2022, an internal investigation led to her termination, followed by her arrest in April. In January 2023, JP Morgan sued Javice for defrauding the company. Javice now faces charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy. She is currently out on bail and has maintained her plea of not guilty.

    Martin Skrekli

    Martin Shkreli was named to the list in 2012 for Finance. At the time, he was recognized for his work as a hedge fund manager and entrepreneur. Shkreli had gained attention for his success in the biotech industry, particularly his involvement with Retrophin, a pharmaceutical company he founded.

    Shkreli went on to co-founded several hedge funds and pharmaceutical companies, including Turing Pharmaceuticals, which notoriously acquired the life-saving antiparasitic and antimalarial drug, Daraprim and then raised its price by 5,455% in 2015. The move earned Shkreli, then called “Pharma Bro,” another title: “the most hated man in America.”

    In December 2015, he was arrested on charges of securities fraud and conspiracy. The charges stemmed from his involvement with two hedge funds, MSMB Capital Management and MSMB Healthcare, as well as Retrophin.

    Shkreli was accused of mismanaging funds, using assets from one of his companies to pay off debts from another, and defrauding investors. The allegations included a scheme in which he illegally used Retrophin’s assets to repay investors who had lost money in his hedge funds.

    Peter Foley | Getty Images

    In 2017, he was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy, resulting in a seven-year prison sentence and significant fines.

    In 2022, Shkreli was released from prison (about four months early) and is now consulting for a law firm and living with his sister in Queens, New York, according to the U.S. Probation Office.

    Related: ‘The Most Hated Man in America’ Where Is Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli Now?

    Shkreli also gained notoriety in 2015 when he purchased the sole copy of the Wu-Tang Clan album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” for $2 million at an auction. Fans and the music industry vets criticized the lack of accessibility to such a culturally significant work, exacerbated by Shkreli’s decision to keep it as a rare collectible without plans for a public release.

    Following his conviction, the album was seized by the government (along with his other assets) and ultimately sold in 2021 as part of the forfeiture process. The sale of the album completes Shkreli’s payment of the forfeiture, and the buyer and price remain confidential.

    Obinwanne Okeke

    Obinwanne Okeke, a Nigerian-born entrepreneur, was revered for his achievements in construction, agriculture, and real estate. But in 2021, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a computer-based fraud scheme that caused approximately $11 million in losses to his victims.

    Okeke operated a group of companies — including the Invictus Group, which was the center of Okeke’s 2016 “30 Under 30” title — but ultimately conducted various computer-based frauds from 2015 to 2019.

    Okeke’s scheme involved obtaining credentials from hundreds of victims and engaging in “email compromise.” Through fraudulent wire transfer requests and fake invoices, Okeke and his conspirators transferred nearly $11 million overseas. Okeke also carried out other forms of cyber fraud, including phishing emails and creating fraudulent web pages. Okeke is serving his sentence and will be released in 2028.

    [ad_2]

    Entrepreneur Staff

    Source link

  • Theranos founder objects to $250 monthly restitution sought by US due to limited financial resources

    Theranos founder objects to $250 monthly restitution sought by US due to limited financial resources

    [ad_1]

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors want Elizabeth Holmes to pay $250 each month to victims of her failed blood testing startup after she leaves prison, but her attorneys are pushing back citing “limited financial resources” available to the disgraced founder of Theranos.

    The U.S. filed a motion last week asking the court to correct “clerical errors” which included, prosecutors said, the lack of a timeline for restitution from the one-time billionaire once she exits prison. Holmes’ legal team objected to those changes this week.

    Holmes, 39, began an 11-year sentence at a minimum-security facility in Bryan, Texas, late last month after she and her former partner, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, were convicted of fraud for duping investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars while running Theranos, a Silicon Valley startup that promised to revolutionize health care.

    In a May 16 ruling, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila ordered Holmes and Balwani, who is serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence in California, to pay $452 million in restitution to victims.

    After paying a total of $25 every three months to victims while incarcerated, federal prosecutors want Holmes to pay at least $250 each month or 10% of her earnings, whichever is greater, in restitution once she is released from prison.

    That would be similar structure to Balwani’s judgment, which requires the former Theranos COO to pay at least $1,000 per month upon supervised released, prosecutors said in last week’s filing.

    Holmes’ lawyers argued this week that Holmes’ payment schedule in court documents is not a clerical error.

    “Ms. Holmes’ Amended Judgment already includes a restitution schedule that begins while she is incarcerated,” Holmes’ attorneys wrote in a Monday filing. “There is no indication in the record that the absence of a change to the schedule after she is released was a clerical error.”

    The defense team also argued that Balwani’s amended judgment “says nothing” about what the court intended for Holmes’ payment schedule — adding that Holmes and Balwani “have different financial resources and the Court has appropriately treated them differently.”

    Holmes’ attorneys made similar financial arguments throughout her criminal fraud trial. Both Holmes — whose stake in Theranos was once valued at $4.5 billion — and Balwani, whose holdings were once valued around $500 million, have indicated they are nearly broke after running up millions of dollar in legal bills while proclaiming their innocence.

    The Associated Press reached out to attorneys representing Holmes and the U.S. government for statements on Wednesday.

    __________

    AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this report.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

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

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

    [ad_1]

    Elizabeth Holmes begins 11-year prison sentence


    Elizabeth Holmes begins 11-year prison sentence

    01:59

    Lawyers for Elizabeth Holmes are resisting the government’s bid to force the imprisoned Theranos founder to repay 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, who include backers such as News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

    Holmes is jointly liable for the amount with Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, her ex-boyfriend and Theranos’ former chief operating officer, who was sentenced to a term of nearly 13 years in prison for his role in the fraud. 

    However, Holmes’ financial judgment doesn’t include a payment schedule aside from requiring her to pay $25 a month while in prison. The Justice Department last week filed a motion to correct that, calling the omission a “clerical error.” In their filing, 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. 

    Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Surrenders For Prison Sentence
    Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos Inc. (center) arrives at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Bryan, Texas, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. 

    Sergio Flores/Bloomberg


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

    [ad_2]

    Source link

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

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

    [ad_1]

    Elizabeth Holmes begins 11-year prison sentence


    Elizabeth Holmes begins 11-year prison sentence

    01:59

    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. 

    Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Surrenders For Prison Sentence
    Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos Inc. (center) arrives at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Bryan, Texas, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. 

    Sergio Flores/Bloomberg


    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.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • 5 Things To Know About Elizabeth Holmes’ Prison | Entrepreneur

    5 Things To Know About Elizabeth Holmes’ Prison | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes checked into the FPC Bryan facility on Tuesday to begin serving her 11-year sentence for felony, fraud, and conspiracy.

    The facility is located in Bryan, Texas, about 100 miles from Houston. It’s a minimum-security federal prison camp for women only. Unlike the prisons depicted in shows like Oz or Orange is the New Black, FPC Bryan is for non-violent offenders.

    “Sometimes they’re called ‘Camp Fed’ because they have a little bit more amenities, and they’re a little nicer places,” Keri Axel, a criminal defense attorney told Yahoo News. But she added, “They’re not great places. No one wants to be there.”

    Here is what its newest inmate can expect.

    Related: Elizabeth Holmes — Now ‘Liz’ — ‘Giggles’ About Her Faux Deep Voice and Recalls ‘Sleeping in Walmart Parking Lots’ in RV Ahead of Trial

    1. Holmes is not the only celebrity inmate

    Bryan holds about 720 inmates, mostly in for white-collar crimes, low-level drug offenses, and harboring illegal immigrants, according to the Wall Street Journal.

    Holmes is not the only famous face to serve time at Bryan. Another celebrity inmate is “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah, who was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud earlier this year. Michelle Janavs, an heir to the Hot Pockets fortune, also served time there in 2020 after being convicted of a college admissions scandal.

    2. She’ll sleep on a very thin mattress

    The residential hall boasts four housing units, which open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 pm. All inmates must return to their dorms standing bedside at 4 p.m. and 10 pm on weekdays and 10 am, 4 pm, and 10 pm on weekends and holidays.

    According to the WSJ, the cells hold as many as four inmates. Each room has two bunk beds with mattresses “about as thick as the width of a hand,” inmates told WSJ.

    Reportedy, inmates have mixed feelings about Holmes

    “Some people are like, ‘I want to be her friend,’” Tasha Wade, a current inmate, told WSJ. “But other people are like, ‘I can’t believe that’s all she got for taking all that money.’”

    Holmes will be expected to keep her room clean. There is no maid service. Each inmate is responsible for making her bed, sweeping and mopping her room floor, and removing trash. Inmates can be fined for making a mess.

    3. Holmes can make up to $1.15 an hour

    All inmates, who have been medically cleared, will get a regular job assignment, including food service and factory jobs. According to the inmate handbook, workers can earn between 12 cents and $1.15 per hour in their job assignments.

    4. She’ll be able to maintain her vegan diet

    Holmes is a vegan. She is said to have adopted this diet because it enabled her to work late without sleep. So it may come as some relief to her that Bryan offers a no-flesh dining option. Inmates can also cook for themselves using kitchen ingredients and inventive cooking methods, inmates told WSJ.

    5. Families can visit on weekends

    Holmes can expect to see her family on weekends and holidays. Because she grew up in Houston, her parents live relatively close. Holmes also has two children — a baby and a toddler — who can visit her in the prison’s play area. Kids under 10 can sit on their parent’s laps, and women can breastfeed babies during visits.

    [ad_2]

    Jonathan Small

    Source link

  • Elizabeth Holmes begins 11-year prison sentence

    Elizabeth Holmes begins 11-year prison sentence

    [ad_1]

    Elizabeth Holmes begins 11-year prison sentence – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes reported to prison Tuesday to begin her 11-year sentence. Holmes will begin serving her sentence for defrauding investors in a Texas federal prison. Janet Shamlian reports.

    Be the first to know

    Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.


    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes set to report to prison on Tuesday

    Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes set to report to prison on Tuesday

    [ad_1]

    Theranos founder and former CEO Elizabeth Holmes pauses while going through a security checkpoint as she arrives for trial at the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building on December 07, 2021 in San Jose, California.

    Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

    Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes is expected to report to prison Tuesday to begin her more than 11-year sentence for defrauding investors about the capabilities of her company’s blood-testing technology.

    U.S. District Judge Edward Davila ordered Holmes to surrender no later than 2 p.m. local time Tuesday at a minimum-security facility in Bryan, Texas in a ruling earlier this month. The ruling followed a day after an appeals court rejected Holmes’ bid to stay out of prison while she appeals her conviction.

    Holmes, 39, has two young children with her current partner, William “Billy” Evans. Her second child was born earlier this year after her sentencing in Nov. 2022.

    A federal jury in San Jose, California, convicted Holmes on four counts of defrauding investors in Theranos, the company she dropped out of Stanford University to found in 2003. In another ruling this month, Davila ordered that Holmes and former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani pay $452 million in restitution to victims.

    Balwani and Holmes, former romantic partners, helmed Theranos during its meteoric rise. At its peak, Theranos was valued at more than $9 billion and attracted backers ranging from the DeVos family to news magnate Rupert Murdoch. It was one of Murdoch’s publications, The Wall Street Journal, that first reported on irregularities with Theranos’ supposedly revolutionary blood-testing machines.

    Balwani was convicted on 12 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is serving his nearly 13-year sentence in a prison in Southern California.

    Holmes’ saga began when she dreamed of running hundreds of laboratory tests with just a finger prick of blood. The idea was to make blood tests cheaper, more convenient and accessible to consumers, but Theranos’ technology ultimately proved to be faulty and unreliable.

    Patients were given inaccurate test results relating to conditions such as HIV, cancer and miscarriages. In closing arguments during Holmes’ trial, prosecutors argued that she “chose fraud” over “failure.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes to start her 11-year prison sentence today

    Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes to start her 11-year prison sentence today

    [ad_1]

    Elizabeth Holmes set to start prison sentence


    Elizabeth Holmes set to report to Texas prison camp to begin 11-year sentence

    02:36

    Former Theranos CEO and convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes is scheduled to move into a Texas prison on Tuesday, beginning an 11-year sentence for swindling investors of hundreds of millions of dollars and lying about her biotech company’s blood-testing technology.

    A California court convicted Holmes, 39, on four counts of fraud and conspiracy. The judge presiding over the case recommended she serve time at a prison camp in Bryan, Texas. She leaves behind a nearly 2-year-old son, who was born weeks before the start of her trial, and a 3-month-old daughter, who was conceived after the jury convicted her.

    Maintaining she was treated unfairly during the trial, Holmes sought to remain free while she appeals her conviction. But that bid was rejected by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, who presided over her trial, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, leaving her no other avenue left to follow but the one that will take her to prison nearly 20 years after she founded Theranos.

    The Associated Press contributed reporting. 

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • As Elizabeth Holmes heads to prison for fraud, many puzzle over her motives

    As Elizabeth Holmes heads to prison for fraud, many puzzle over her motives

    [ad_1]

    SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — As Elizabeth Holmes prepares to report to prison next week, the criminal case that laid bare the blood-testing scam at the heart of her Theranos startup is entering its final phase.

    The 11-year sentence represents a comeuppance for the wide-eyed woman who broke through “tech bro” culture to become one of Silicon Valley’s most celebrated entrepreneurs, only to be exposed as a fraud. Along the way, Holmes became a symbol of the shameless hyperbole that often saturates startup culture.

    But questions still linger about her true intentions — so many that even the federal judge who presided over her trial seemed mystified. And Holmes’ defenders continue to ask whether the punishment fits the crime.

    At 39, she seems most likely to be remembered as Silicon Valley’s Icarus — a high-flying entrepreneur burning with reckless ambition whose odyssey culminated in convictions for fraud and conspiracy.

    Her motives are still somewhat mysterious, and some supporters say federal prosecutors targeted her unfairly in their zeal to bring down one of the most prominent practitioners of fake-it-til-you-make-it — the tech sector’s brand of self-promotion that sometimes veers into exaggeration and blatant lies to raise money.

    Holmes will begin to pay the price for her deceit on May 30 when she is scheduled begin the sentence that will separate her from her two children — a son whose July 2021 birth delayed the start of her trial and a 3-month-old daughter conceived after her conviction.

    She is expected to be incarcerated in Bryan, Texas, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of her hometown of Houston. The prison was recommended by the judge who sentenced Holmes, but authorities have not publicly disclosed where she will be held.

    Her many detractors contend she deserves to be in prison for peddling a technology that she repeatedly boasted would quickly scan for hundreds of diseases and other health problems with a few drops of blood taken with a finger prick.

    The technology never worked as promised. Instead, Theranos tests produced wildly unreliable results that could have endangered patients’ lives — one of the most frequently cited reasons why she deserved to be prosecuted.

    Before those lies were uncovered in a series of explosive articles in The Wall Street Journal beginning in October 2015, Holmes raised nearly $1 billion from a list of savvy investors including Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and media mogul Rupert Murdoch. It was the duping of those investors that led to her prison sentence and a $452 million restitution bill.

    Holmes’ stake in Theranos at one point catapulted her paper wealth to $4.5 billion. She never sold any of her stock in the company, though trial evidence left no doubt she reveled in the trappings of fame and fortune — so much so that she and the father of her children, William “Billy” Evans, lived on a palatial Silicon Valley estate during the trial.

    The theory that Holmes was running an elaborate scam was buttressed by trial evidence documenting her efforts to prevent the Journal’s investigation from being published. That campaign compelled John Carreyrou — the reporter responsible for those bombshell stories — to attend court and position himself in Holmes’ line of vision when she took the witness stand.

    Holmes also signed off on surveillance aimed at intimidating Theranos employees who helped uncover the flaws with the blood-testing technology. The whistleblowers included Tyler Shultz, the grandson of former Secretary of State George Shultz, whom Holmes befriended and persuaded to join the Theranos board.

    Tyler Shultz became so unnerved by Holmes’ efforts to shut him up that he began sleeping with a knife under his pillow, according to a wrenching statement delivered by his father, Alex, at her sentencing.

    Holmes’ supporters still contend she always had good intentions and was unfairly scapegoated by the Justice Department. They insist she simply deployed the same over-the-top promotion tactics as many other tech executives, including Elon Musk, who has repeatedly made misleading statements about the capabilities of Tesla’s self-driving cars.

    According to those supporters, Holmes was singled out because she was a woman who briefly eclipsed the men who customarily bask in Silicon Valley’s spotlight, and the trial turned her into a latter-day version of Hester Prynne — the protagonist in the 1850 novel “The Scarlet Letter.”

    Holmes steadfastly maintained her innocence during seven often-riveting days of testimony in her own defense — a spectacle that caused people to line up shortly after midnight to secure one of the few dozen seats available in the San Jose courtroom.

    On one memorable day, Holmes recounted how she had never gotten over the trauma of being raped while enrolled at Stanford University. She then described being subjected to a long-running pattern of emotional and sexual abuse by her former lover and Theranos conspirator, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, and suggested his stifling control blurred her thinking.

    Balwani’s lawyer, Jeffrey Coopersmith, denied those allegations during the trial. In Balwani’s subsequent trial, Coopersmith unsuccessfully tried to depict his client as Holmes’ pawn.

    Balwani, 57, is now serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy.

    When it came time to sentence the then-pregnant Holmes in November, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila seemed as puzzled as anyone about why she did what she did.

    ”This is a fraud case where an exciting venture went forward with great expectations and hope, only to be dashed by untruth, misrepresentations, hubris and plain lies,” Davila lamented while Holmes stood before him. “I suppose we step back and we look at this, and we think what is the pathology of fraud?”

    The judge also hearkened back to the days that Silicon Valley consisted mostly of orchards farmed by immigrants. That was before the land was ceded to the tech boom beginning in 1939 when William Hewlett and David Packard founded a company bearing their surnames in a one-car garage in Palo Alto — the same city where Theranos was based.

    “You’ll recall the wonderful innovation of those two individuals in that small garage,” Davila reminded everyone in the rapt courtroom. “No exotic automobiles or lavish lifestyle, just a desire to create for society’s benefit through honest hard work. And that, I would hope, would be the continuing story, the legacy and practice of Silicon Valley.”

    ___

    Michael Liedtke has been covering Silicon Valley for The Associated Press for 23 years.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Elizabeth Holmes must start prison term May 30, court rules

    Elizabeth Holmes must start prison term May 30, court rules

    [ad_1]

    Theranos founder and convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes has a new date to report to prison.

    Holmes will stay free through Memorial Day weekend, then must report to the Bureau of Prisons by 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 30, according to a ruling from federal judge Edward Davila of the Northern District of California. Holmes’ lawyers proposed the new reporting date, asking for two weeks for Holmes to make “medical and child-care arrangements,” court filings show; Davila approved it on Wednesday.

    The day before, a federal appeals court denied Holmes’ last-ditch bid to stay out of prison while she appeals her conviction on multiple counts of defrauding investors. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the appeal was unlikely to result in her sentence being overturned.

    Also on Tuesday, Judge Davila ruled that Holmes must pay $452 million in restitution to victims of Theranos’ fraud, including a group of investors and former Theranos partners Walgreens and Safeway.

    Davila previously recommended that Holmes serve her 11-year sentence at a low-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas, that allows for family visitation. Holmes’ lawyers did not disclose the location of the prison she has been assigned, but noted that she has to prepare to travel outside of California, where she currently lives. Holmes, 39, has a 1-year old son and a 3-month old daughter with her partner, Billy Evans.


    Elizabeth Holmes loses bid to stay out of prison

    00:19

    At Theranos’ peak, the startup that promised to revolutionize blood testing was valued at $9 billion, making Holmes the richest self-made woman in the world, if only on paper. But after a series of articles by the Wall Street Journal revealed the technology didn’t work as promised, the company unraveled.

    Holmes’ former partner and ex-Theranos executive Sunny Balwani was also convicted of defrauding investors and sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison. He started serving his sentence in April at FCI Terminal Island prison in San Pedro, California.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • When Will Elizabeth Holmes Go to Prison? | Entrepreneur

    When Will Elizabeth Holmes Go to Prison? | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Despite Elizabeth Holmes’ last-ditch effort to avoid prison time, her request to remain free on bail while she files to appeal her conviction was rejected by the court Tuesday, according to Reuters.

    Holmes was convicted on several counts of defrauding investors and sentenced to 11 years in prison in November. She has been appealing her conviction with her lawyers alleging mistakes and misconduct during her trial.

    Holmes was supposed to begin her sentence on April 27, which was delayed after her last-minute request.

    RELATED: Elizabeth Holmes — Now ‘Liz’ — ‘Giggles’ About Her Faux Deep Voice and Recalls ‘Sleeping in Walmart Parking Lots’ in RV Ahead of Trial

    At Tuesday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila also ordered the disgraced Theranos founder to pay $452 million in restitution to her victims, according to reports.

    Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, Theranos’ former COO and Holmes’ former romantic partner, already began his 13-year prison sentence for several counts of fraud in April, but he and Holmes are both being held jointly liable for the amount of restitution.

    Judge Davila has recommended a women’s prison in Bryan, Texas, for Holmes to serve her sentence, however, it’s not yet known if the federal Bureau of Prisons will honor the recommendation.

    Davila has yet to set a new start date for Holmes to report to prison.

    RELATED: What Happened to Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes? Everything from Her Net Worth to Where She Is Now

    Original Story:

    Elizabeth Holmes isn’t trading in her black turtle neck for an orange jumpsuit just yet.

    The former Theranos CEO – who was set to start her 11-year prison sentence on Thursday after she was convicted in November on multiple charges of defrauding investors – will remain free, for now, following a last-minute appeal.

    Holmes was scheduled to report to prison on April 27 after a judge denied her request to remain free while she appeals her conviction, per CNN. However, Holmes’ legal team filed to appeal the judge’s decision on Tuesday, allowing her to remain free on bail while the court considers her last-minute appeal.

    Additionally, Holmes cited the birth of her second child when she filed her initial appeal to postpone the start of her sentence.

    Former Theranos COO and Holmes’ ex-boyfriend, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, reported to prison in April to begin his 13-year sentence. He was convicted of fraud charges in a separate trial.

    [ad_2]

    Sam Silverman

    Source link

  • Elizabeth Holmes can’t stay out of prison on appeal, court rules

    Elizabeth Holmes can’t stay out of prison on appeal, court rules

    [ad_1]

    An appeals court has denied Elizabeth Holmes’ last-ditch bid to stay out of prison while the Theranos founder appeals her conviction of defrauding investors.

    The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that Holmes’ appeal was unlikely to result in her sentence being overturned. Holmes was initially scheduled to report to prison on April 27, but the reporting date was automatically delayed with her latest appeal. A new date for her to report to prison has not been set.

    Also on Tuesday, Judge Edward Davila of the Northern District of California ruled that Holmes must pay $452 million in restitution to victims of Theranos’ fraud, including a group of investors and former Theranos partners Walgreens and Safeway.

    Davila previously recommended that Holmes serve her 11-year sentence at a low-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas, that allows for family visitation. Holmes, 39, has two young children with her partner, Billy Evans.


    Elizabeth Holmes loses bid to stay out of prison

    00:19

    At Theranos’ peak, the startup that promised to revolutionize blood testing was valued at $9 billion, making Holmes the richest self-made woman in the world, if only on paper. But after a series of articles by the Wall Street Journal revealed the technology didn’t work as promised, the company unraveled.

    Holmes’ former partner and ex-Theranos executive Sunny Balwani was also convicted of defrauding investors and sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison. He started serving his sentence in April at FCI Terminal Island prison in San Pedro, California.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Elizabeth Holmes Isn’t Fooling Anyone

    Elizabeth Holmes Isn’t Fooling Anyone

    [ad_1]

    Elizabeth Holmes isn’t fooling anyone. Well, almost anyone.

    The convicted fraudster and founder of the defunct medical start-up Theranos, is waiting to begin an 11-year sentence in federal prison. She received this punishment for misleading investors about her lab-in-a-box technology, which she claimed could run hundreds of tests on a few drops of blood. In reality, when Theranos’s Edison device wasn’t exploding, it was delivering unreliable results to frightened patients. Holmes’s fall from grace—she was once the youngest self-made woman billionaire—has been described over and over again. But there’s still a little more blood left in this stone.

    On Sunday, The New York Times ran a profile of Holmes—which included the first interview she’s given since 2016. The author, Amy Chozick, suggests that she was charmed by Holmes, the devoted family woman. Chozick writes that Holmes is “gentle and charismatic,” and “didn’t seem like a hero or a villain. She seemed, like most people, somewhere in between.” This flattering or at least ambivalent tone was not well received. The Axios editor Sam Baker picked the article apart on Twitter. The emergency-medicine physician Jeremy Faust called it “credulous drivel.” Journalists and doctors alike argued that the Times had erred by helping Holmes rehabilitate her image.

    When mistakes happen in the health-care system, doctors try to trace their origin to broken processes. Errors are addressed at the system—not individual—level: If a patient receives an incorrect dose of a medicine, for instance, the blame doesn’t necessarily fall on the nurse who administered it or the physician who prescribed it. The entire drug-delivery process, from pharmacy to bedside, is carefully inspected for unsafe practices. The media—and their content-delivery process—have been going through a similar postmortem over the Theranos debacle. Before John Carreyrou broke the bad news about the company at The Wall Street Journal, reporters were happy to write flattering profiles of Holmes with only the most rudimentary caveats. Even the Journal praised her before it damned her. But the Times’ latest visit to Holmesville suggests that this unsafe practice is still in place.

    Read: Theranos and COVID-19 testing are mirror-image cautionary tales

    As a pathologist—a doctor who specializes in laboratory testing—I’ve been following the Theranos story since the beginning. Holmes’s rise and fall is the most glamorous scandal to hit my field in some time: Most are more body-parts-in-the-back-of-a-pickup than celebrity-stuffed financial crimes. Just last week, I was giving a grand-rounds talk about Theranos. Loopholes in laboratory regulation and widespread ignorance of how blood testing works had caused medical professionals and the public to fall for diagnostic scams, I told the academics in attendance. Toward the end of the lecture, I posed a question: Have the media learned their lesson after enabling Holmes’s charade?

    Much has changed about science reporting in the years since Holmes’s disgrace. I’ve watched the media’s discussion of novel health technologies grow more nuanced and leery. Major news outlets now go out of their way to emphasize the precariousness of early study findings. I’ve been getting more calls from journalists who seek a skeptical perspective on some new lab test or scientific finding. But there are cracks in the media’s armor. The weakest component is the headline: You can still declare all manner of decisive breakthroughs, as long as you append “scientists find” to the title. Another persistent problem is that medical controversies are reported out study by study. Back-and-forth articles about contested areas offer ready-made drama but little clarity. (Masks help prevent COVID; wait, they don’t work at all; never mind, now they do again.) When doctors evaluate the latest research, we recognize that some methods are more reliable than others. Wisdom comes from learning which results to ignore, and scientific consensus changes slowly.

    But journalists’ most stubborn instinct—the one they share with Holmes—is to lean into a good story. It’s the human side of science that attracts readers. Every technical advance must be contextualized with a tale of suffering or triumph. Holmes knew this as well as anyone. She hardly dwelled on how her devices worked—she couldn’t, because they didn’t. Instead, she repeatedly told the world about her fear of needles and of losing loved ones to diseases that might have been caught earlier by a convenient blood test. Of course reporters were taken in. The next entrepreneur to come along and tell a tale like that may also get a sympathetic hearing in the press.

    Holmes understood that almost everyone—journalists, investors, patients, doctors—can be swayed by a pat narrative. She’s still trying to get ahead by telling stories. In offering herself up to the Times as a reformed idealist and a wonderful mother, Holmes adds to a story that was started by her partner, Billy Evans. As part of Holmes’s sentencing proceedings last fall, Evans wrote a multipage letter to the judge pleading for mercy, which was accompanied by numerous photos of Holmes posing with animals and children. “She is gullible, overly trusting, and simply naive,” Evans wrote about one of the great corporate hucksters of our era.

    Journalists are still telling stories about her too, for better or for worse. Holmes is not naive, nor are most readers of The New York Times. While last weekend’s “a hero or a villain” coverage may be said to have betrayed the patients who were harmed by her inaccurate blood tests, and the memory of a Theranos employee who died by suicide, it is also just another entry in the expanded universe of Holmes-themed entertainment. There are books and podcasts and feature-length documentaries. A TV miniseries about Holmes has a score of 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. (“Addictively engrossing!” “Consistently entertaining!”) Surely some of those who now bemoan the Times’ friendly treatment have consumed this material for less-than-academic reasons.

    The prosaic details of a convicted cheat’s domestic life aren’t really news, but they are interesting—because the character of Elizabeth Holmes is interesting. So, too, are her continued efforts to spin a narrative of who she is. But with such well-trodden ground, the irony is built right in. You know that Holmes is a scammer. I know it. On some level, The New York Times seems to know it too; the article runs through her crimes and even quotes a friend of Holmes’s who says she isn’t to be trusted. This isn’t character rehabilitation; it’s content. We’re all waiting to see what Liz gets up to next. Have the media learned their lesson? The real test will arrive when the next scientific scammer comes along, and the one after that—when their narrative is still intact, and their fraud hasn’t yet been revealed. At that point, the system for preventing errors will have to do its work.

    [ad_2]

    Benjamin Mazer

    Source link

  • Elizabeth Holmes delays going to prison with another appeal

    Elizabeth Holmes delays going to prison with another appeal

    [ad_1]

    Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has avoided starting her more than 11-year prison sentence on Thursday by deploying the same legal maneuver that enabled her co-conspirator in a blood-testing hoax to remain free for an additional month.

    Holmes’ lawyers on Wednesday informed U.S. District Judge Edward Davila that she won’t be reporting to prison as scheduled because she had filed an appeal of a decision that he issued earlier this month ordering her to begin her sentence on April 27.

    The appeal, filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals late Tuesday, automatically delays Holmes’ reporting date. She has been free on bail since a jury convicted her on four counts of fraud and conspiracy in January following a four-month trial revolving around her downfall from a rising Silicon Valley star to an alleged scam artist chasing fame and fortune while fleecing investors and endangering the health of patients relying on Theranos’ flawed blood tests.

    The legal tactic deployed by Holmes mirrors a move made last month by her former lover and subordinate, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, to avoid a prison reporting date of March 16. After the Ninth Circuit rejected his appeal three weeks later, Davila set a new reporting date of April 20.

    Separate trials, same crime

    Balwani, 57, is now serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence in a federal prison located in San Pedro, California, after being convicted of 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy.

    Although they had separate trials, Holmes and Balwani were accused of essentially the same crimes centered on a ruse touting Theranos’ blood-testing system as a revolutionary breakthrough in health care. The claims helped the company become a Silicon Valley sensation that raised nearly $1 billion from investors.

    Holmes, 38, last appeared in court about a month ago, shortly after giving birth to her second child in an attempt to persuade Davila to allow her to remain free while she appeals her conviction. Davila, who scolded Holmes for betraying Silicon Valley’s history of innovation when he sentenced her in November, subsequently rejected that request.

    Holmes’ lawyers argue in the appeal that the court abused its authority and violated her rights during the trial.

    Davila had recommended Holmes be incarcerated at a low-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas, but it has not been publicly disclosed if that is where she has been assigned to serve her sentence.


    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Elizabeth Holmes loses bid to stay out of prison

    Elizabeth Holmes loses bid to stay out of prison

    [ad_1]

    Elizabeth Holmes loses bid to stay out of prison – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been ordered to report to prison on April 27 to begin her 11-year sentence. Holmes had been trying to remain free on bond as she appeals her conviction.

    Be the first to know

    Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.


    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Video: A pause on AI development, why it’s the worst time to buy a car in decades on CNN Nightcap | CNN Business

    Video: A pause on AI development, why it’s the worst time to buy a car in decades on CNN Nightcap | CNN Business

    [ad_1]

    The dangers of AI, the worst time to buy a car in decades, and the next Elizabeth Holmes?

    NYU’s Gary Marcus tells “Nightcap’s” Jon Sarlin why he signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on AI development. Plus, CNN’s Peter Valdes-Dapena explains why car prices may never go back to where they were pre-Covid. And Forbes’ Alexandra Levine details the arrest of Charlie Javice, the 31-year-old fintech founder who sold her company to JPMorgan and now stands accused of fraud. To get the day’s business headlines sent directly to your inbox, sign up for the Nightcap newsletter.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Ex-Theranos exec Sunny Balwani finds way to delay prison sentence

    Ex-Theranos exec Sunny Balwani finds way to delay prison sentence

    [ad_1]

    Former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani found an escape hatch Thursday from the scheduled start of his nearly 13-year prison sentence for a blood-testing hoax he engineered with his former boss and lover, Elizabeth Holmes.

    Just hours before Balwani was supposed to surrender to authorities, his lawyer filed documents notifying U.S. District Judge Edward Davila that he wouldn’t be doing so.

    The notice cited a last-minute appeal of a recent Davila ruling rejecting Balwani’s request to remain free while trying to overturn his conviction on 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy. The Wednesday appeal of Davila’s March 9 ruling triggered an automatic stay of his prison reporting date, which had been set for 2 p.m. Pacific time Thursday.

    That’s because Balwani, 57, has been free on bail since a jury convicted him last July, triggering a clause that allows him to remain out of prison until the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals weighs in on Davila’s ruling issued last week, according to the notice filed by Balwani’s attorney, Jeffrey Coopersmith.

    It’s unclear how long it will be before the appeals court deals with the ruling.

    Terminal Island prison

    If and when he is sent to prison, Balawani will serve his time in a facility near a Southern California harbor, according to other documents filed Wednesday by Coopersmith. That destination represents a shift from the Atlanta prison that Balwani had been initially assigned by authorities.

    The change means Balwani will be in the Terminal Island prison located in San Pedro, California, located about 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The prison has incarcerated several other prominent figures, including gangster Al Capone in the 1930s, apocalyptic cult leader Charles Manson for an auto theft in the 1950s and LSD evangelist Timothy Leary in the 1970s.

    In a filing last week, Coopersmith had asked Davila for additional time to appeal the Bureau of Prisons’ decision to send him to the Atlanta facility that has been dogged by allegations of widespread of misconduct and other abuses. Davila had recommended Balwani be sent to a Lompoc prison in Santa Barbara County, located about 250 miles from the San Jose courtroom where his trial took place.

    Holmes seeks delay, too

    Holmes, 39, and her lawyers will have their chance to try to persuade Davila to delay the scheduled April 27 start of her more than 11-year prison sentence during a hearing set for Friday morning in San Jose, California.

    It will mark Holmes’ first appearance in court since giving birth to the child she was carrying at the time of her Nov. 18 sentencing on four counts of fraud and conspiracy.

    Although they had separate trials, Holmes and Balwani were accused of essentially the same crimes centered on a ruse touting Theranos’ blood-testing system as a revolutionary breakthrough in health care. The claims helped the company become a Silicon Valley sensation that raised nearly $1 billion from investors.

    But its technology never came close to working like Holmes and Balwani boasted, resulting in Theranos’ scandalous collapse and a criminal case that shined a bright light on Silicon Valley greed and hubris.

    [ad_2]

    Source link