On Tuesday, Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced entrepreneur convicted of defrauding investors in her failed blood-testing start-up, Theranos, began her 11-year, three-month prison sentence by reporting to a federal facility in Texas. The New York Times reports that she arrived at F.P.C. Bryan, a minimum-security prison camp for women near Houston, accompanied by what appeared to be her mother and her father inside the vehicle.
The Theranos Case: Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, was found guilty of four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy for making false claims about the capabilities of her company’s blood tests. She and her former business partner, Ramesh Balwani, must pay $452 million in restitution to defrauded investors. Despite appealing her case and seeking to avoid prison during the appeal process, Holmes’s requests have been denied. Theranos, once valued at billions of dollars, collapsed in 2018. Ramesh Balwani, who was tried separately, was convicted on 12 fraud counts and is serving a nearly 13-year sentence while also appealing his case.
After some arrangements out of sight from the nearby cameras, Elizabeth Holmes entered the facility dressed in jeans, glasses, and a sweater, carrying a set of papers. As she entered the prison, a bystander on the street shouted her name.
F.P.C. Bryan houses 655 inmates, who are required to work either in the cafeteria or at a manufacturing facility. The pay for such work begins at $1.15 per hour, as outlined in the prison’s handbook. Before commencing her duties at the factory, Holmes may undergo an assessment test to determine her strengths in various areas such as business, clerical, numerical, logic, mechanical, and social skills. Additionally, inmates can enroll in a “Lean Six Sigma” training program focused on enhancing efficiency.
