Pregnant Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes sentenced to 11 years jail

Pregnant Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been sentenced to a long period in jail after being convicted of fraud.

Elizabeth Holmes (C), founder and former CEO of blood testing and life sciences company Theranos, walks with her mother Noel Holmes and partner Billy Evans into the federal courthouse for her sentencing hearing on November 18, 2022 in San Jose, California. Picture: AFP

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been sentenced to 11 years jail after being convicted of fraud.

Once compared to late tech mogul Steve Jobs, Holmes was convicted of defrauding investors who backed the now defunct blood testing company.

A pregnant Holmes was given 135 months to serve behind bars by US District Judge Edward Davila in the a courtroom in San Jose, California on Friday (local time).

Holmes was found guilty by a jury of fraud in the same courtroom in January.

Immediately after the ruling was handed down, Holmes, 38, turned to hug her crying mother, the New York Post reported.

Elizabeth Holmes with her mother Noel Holmes. Picture: AFP

Holmes will begin serving the sentence on April 27. Her lawyers are expected to ask Judge Davila to allow Holmes to remain free on bail, during her appeal.

Before Judge Davila handed down the sentence the busy courtroom was sent spinning into something of a frenzy when the prosecuting attorney John Bostic claimed that Holmes once said: “they don’t put attractive people like me in jail”.

However, Holmes’ defence attorney Kevin Downey rallied against the claim and said the prosecution never called any witnesses during the case that testified that Holmes made the remark.

The jail term of 135 months was less than the 15 years the prosecution had requested, while her legal team has asked for a custodian term of 18 months or less, preferably served in home detention.

The appeal aside, the sentencing marks an end to a saga that captured headlines worldwide and was the subject of a much watched documentary and TV series.

Elizabeth Holmes and partner Billy Evans enter the federal courthouse for her sentencing hearing on November 18, 2022 in San Jose, California. Picture: AFP

Once valued at around US$10 billion (A$15bn) Theranos Inc had promised to revolutionise health testing and treatment, at hospitals around the world, at home and even on the battlefield.

In claims to prospective investors, Holmes spoke of a technology that would make the need for onerous blood testing with needles a thing of the past.

Instead, she claimed Theranos had manufactured technology that could supposedly scan for hundreds of diseases and ailments with just a few drops of blood via a finger prick.

She had dreamed up the idea while studying as a 19-year-old at Stanford University.

However in practice tests, which were submitted during Holmes trial, displayed very unreliable results that could have steered patients and health care professionals in the wrong direction.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (L) speaks with Jack Ma (R), executive chairman of Alibaba Group, and Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of Theranos, during the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting in New York, September 29, 2015. Picture: Reuters

Before her incredible fall from grace, Holmes has been hailed as another Silicon Valley genius, another Steve Jobs and her personal wealth was valued at around US$5bn.

Prosecutors have called for Holmes to pay more than US$800m in restitution, in a bid to cover the nearly US$1bn Holmes raised from a number of high profile and powerful investors during the scam.

Federal prosecutor Robert Leach said that Holmes deserved a severe punishment for her crimes and that a message needed to be sent to curb the hubris of the tech boom of the past decade.

Holmes “preyed on hopes of her investors that a young, dynamic entrepreneur had changed healthcare,” Leach wrote.

“And through her deceit, she attained spectacular fame, adoration, and billions of dollars of wealth.”

Another spectacular tech collapse - Samuel Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX. Picture: AFP

That warning has come hot on the heels of the spectacular collapse of crypto exchange FTX, amid allegations of a complete failure of accounting practices in the company under founder and ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Other allegations include Bankman-Fried channelled investors’ funds into his own accounts earlier this year and wired money into the same when it became apparent the company was imploding last week.

Holmes and partner Billy Evans have a one-year-old son. It is expected she will remain out of jail on bail until she gives birth to her second child.

A due date has not been made public.