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US prosecutors suggest that Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes receive a 15-year jail sentence and pay $800 million in restitution to investors who were duped into funding the blood testing start-up.
US prosecutors proposed Friday that Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes be imprisoned for 15 years and pay $800 million in compensation to investors scammed by the blood testing firm.
With Holmes' sentencing scheduled for next week, the DOJ issued its suggestion in a court document, as per a report from Reuters.
Elizabeth Holmes Case
The prosecution argues that Holmes' substantial deception warrants a sentence of 180 months in prison to adequately represent the gravity of the charges, provide for reasonable punishment for the offenses, and contain Elizabeth Holmes and others.
Before the recent hearing, Elizabeth Holmes appealed to US District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, not to sentence her to jail time. In January, a jury found the 38-year-old guilty of four charges of wire fraud and conspiracy. The maximum sentence for each offense is 20 years in jail. The sentences might be served simultaneously if necessary.
The government claims she misled investors from 2010 to 2015 by saying the technology of her company Theranos could do several tests using just a single finger prick's worth of blood.
Elizabeth Holmes had entered a not-guilty plea to allegations that she had misled about Theranos, claiming that the company's technology could identify illnesses with a few drops of blood and that the lab directors at the company were in control of the test's accuracy.
The Theranos CEO will be sentenced on November 18 in federal court in San Jose, California. For each count, she may spend up to 20 years in jail. Assistant US Attorney Robert S. Leach wrote in a 46-page brief filed Friday that Elizabeth Holmes "repeatedly chose lies, hype, and the prospect of billions of dollars over patient safety and fair dealing with investors."
As per a report from PBS, he noted that Elizabeth Holmes lied when it mattered most while everyone wanted the truth from her. On Thursday, Holmes' legal team submitted an 82-page motion requesting a sentence of no more than 18 months, arguing that their client's image had been irreparably damaged and that she had become a "caricature" to be reviled and despised.
Prosecutors demanded that Elizabeth Holmes pay $803,840,309 in reparations and serve a lengthy jail sentence for her involvement in the yearslong plan that made her one of Silicon Valley's most recognized and affluent entrepreneurs.
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Holmes Lawyers Appeal For Shorter Imprisonment Sentence
Holmes's lawyers have said that even if US District Judge Edward Davila decides to put her in jail, she should only get a short sentence because she is not a threat to the public and has never been in trouble with the law before. On Friday, attorneys for disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes asked Judge Edward Davila to sentence their client to home detention and community service following her conviction for fraud in January.
John Cline and Kevin Downey, Holmes' lawyers, said she endured "substantial trauma" during the crime. They stated that Elizabeth Holmes dove headfirst into finding the source of the problem, owning up to it, and implementing a solution.
The attorneys argued that their client never received her payout and suffered along with the firm when it crashed. No matter what the judge decides, Elizabeth Holmes and her loved ones will suffer the consequences forever, per The Daily Beast.
The defense attorneys also requested from the judge a sentence of no more than 18 months in jail. Attempts by the pregnant Holmes to delay her sentence on November 18 had been unsuccessful, including a request for a fresh trial that was turned down on Tuesday.
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