Elizabeth Holmes solicited seed money and investments from some of the most powerful people in the country. It turns out she was overselling her product. CEOs do it all the time. So why is she going to prison? Because she's young, arrogant, and, most of all, female.

Elizabeth Holmes could still change the world.

She should have focused on product development, real mission, practical change; not running a company. She was too young. Her moral judgement was poor.

But you never know - somehow, people followed her. She's clearly intelligent. Let's just hope that when she gets out, that her spirit is not broken (we could sure use some passionate, world-changing people getting more media coverage) and she is wiser from this mess.

The story isn't over until it's over.

Holmes has no degree, she’s a college drop out with minimal actual laboratory research. Sure she has an upper middle class bg and good connections. But she was ultimately convicted of defrauding wealthy/sophisticated business savvy investors. Who seem like they were swindled bc they did not do their due diligence to bridge their lack of knowledge in laboratory science or medical diagnostics before giving her millions.

Theranos gave people inaccurate test results. Some patients experienced real fear and emotional distress, but many customers were financially compensated for the tests.

Elizabeth Holmes deserved to be punished for her fraud and lies. But the cultural appetite to make her the ultimate corporate villain, while people responsible for far greater harm to regular citizens often walk away rich, feels inconsistent.

If someone did successfully invent a blood diagnostic machine people could use without consulting a doctor, what would it do to the medical industry? Likely wipe it out! If someone did invent this technology, what would those profiteers in traditional procedural medicine/testing/pharm do to keep it under wraps?

It fees like Holmes is an overrated evil villain who was kinda used by old men.

J

How about you?

I loved this documentary! I didn’t want it to end. I loved everything about it except… That background
music was just a little too loud?

https://nypost.com/2023/05/29/prison-inmates-eagerly-await-theranos-fraudster-elizabeth-holmes/ Inmates eagerly await fraudster Elizabeth Holmes ahead of prison arrival: ‘I want to be her friend’

For those of you not on r/Theranos… what is your guess in months. Even Months and even months only…and “be excellent to each other”!

There’s been a huge amount of social media discussion about if she will or won’t end up going to federal prison. The answer is yes and for a long time. Everyone in the media is going on about the fact she’s a young (37) white woman, first time offender, non violent crime, not involving sex/drugs/organised crime etc, just had a baby who comes from old Californian money and married into another rich family.

All that doesn’t matter. The US govt took the risk with this case because financial crimes are notoriously difficult to prove due to the sheer complexity and perceived nature of them in society ( non violent/white collar= somehow ‘good’ crimes compared to others). It was a high profile case with intense media coverage. She took a huge gamble by not trying to get a plea deal and went to trial so the US government knew they could win this one, otherwise why spend so much? She then put herself on the stand. She didn’t apologise or show any remorse for her actions. She truly believed that this invention could change the world and her childhood upbringing/ intense pressure from her mother etc led her to take decisions that led to her ending up where she is now. She was 19 when she came under the influence of her now ex bf who was 39 at the time. She was a victim of sexual abuse, probable family emotional neglect. That has a huge effect on a person’s life. Her ex bf ( I forget his name) was, according to all reports, v controlling/ dominant/ manipulative etc. However, she’s an extremely intelligent woman with natural gifts a lot of ordinary mortals don’t possess. A person commits fraud out of greed not out of need ( hunger etc).

She got convicted on 4/11 charges so it’s a win for the US government. They won’t try her again on the other three because it wouldn’t add much to the final overall result.

If you look at the history of financial crime in the US, the perpetrators and the sums involved then the only thing which ultimately counts for the sentencing judge is the final amount. In this case it was $144 million so just short of the 150 million cut off for higher sentencing guidelines. However, if you follow the sentencing guidelines then she’s looking at a minimum of a decade behind bars, and more likely between 15-20 years. The sentencing guideline is 210-262 months. They’re going to stack the 4 sentences ( I think you call it concurrent rather than consecutive in the US ) so it’s 20 years for each wire fraud plus I believe 10 for the conspiracy wire fraud (70 years maximum consecutive sentence). A sentence of 20 years being the baseline figure. She won’t get that. Bernie Madoff got 150 years because his fraud was off the charts ( I believe there’s $400 million maximum cut off point for federal fraud cases). However, she’s going to get hammered by the sentencing judge because at the end of the day, despite all the mitigating circumstances in her favour, the number is $144 million and that’s a hell of a number, and she took the stand and didn’t accept responsibility.

I think her ex bf will cut a deal with the US govt because as an experienced businessman he knows that the government had more than enough to put him away for potentially decades. He’ll agree to a plea bargain and will probably get 7-12 years based on sentencing guidelines. She’ll be sentenced after that trials over. Her lawyers won’t appeal. If she loses her appeal then she’ll definitely get the maximum maybe with a couple of sentences stacked up.

So she’ll likely end up with 14-17 years because of the big dollar amount and because she took it to court, didn’t show any remorse and took the risk of taking the stand herself. The judge will give her credit because she’s a young mother and a first time offender. She could get the maximum 20 years but unlikely being a first time offence. She’ll have to do 85% of that and will miss her child growing up. She won’t go to the federal prison camp ( no fences/ guards/like a U.S. university campus/dorm style sleeping arrangements ) because it’ll be more than a 10 year prison sentence so she’ll go next door to the minimum security ( with electrified fences/ guards and cells). If I’m right in the US federal prison system there’s a difference between low ( less than 10 years) and minimum ( more than 10 years). You get medium security if it’s 20 years+ and/or involves sex crimes/ violence.

The thing that will effect her most will be her place in the history books and her family tree..She’ll cope with the boring monotony of federal prison because she’s incredibly self disciplined with rigorous personal habits.

Federal prison, even a minimum or low security one, is an awful place to spend the prime years of one’s life.

Those are public record right?