Theranos founder and disgraced CEO Elizabeth Holmes must be having an out-of-body experience right now. She lives with her baby and husband in an estate in Northern California valued at $135 million, but she’s facing years in federal prison for her conviction on wire fraud and conspiracy charges.
Imagine how surreal that is – living a life of luxury with your heiress husband but knowing it will almost certainly be short-lived as she waits for sentencing. Well, she’s throwing a Hail Mary, desperately hoping to avoid the slammer any way she can, and Friday, she asked the judge from her cast to throw out her conviction. Her premise is that no rational juror could have found her guilty.
It’s a typical, desperate attempt, and it rarely works. In January, she was convicted of four out of the 11 counts against her. The jury determined she conspired with her former lover and Theranos President “Sunny” Balwani to commit fraud.
Her lawyers are singing a different tune, but an attorney named Seth Kretzer told Bloomberg that this strategy is almost pointless.
“Sufficiency of the evidence challenges are raised in almost every appeal from a trial court disposition; maybe one such appeal a year is successful in a fraud case in any federal circuit court of appeals.”
If the judge threw her a bone and granted the motion, the justice department would appeal and have plenty of evidence to most likely win.
If nothing else, Holmes buys a little more freedom, as US District Judge Edward Davila has scheduled a July hearing to consider her plea.
Sentencing is set for September. She faces a sentence ranging from 9 to 17.5 years.
Add comment