Elizabeth Holmes’ prison sentence was quietly shortened by two years, new records show.
An update to Holmes’ profile on the website of the Bureau of Prisons now projects her release date as 12 December 2032, two years sooner than initially scheduled. A spokesman for the federal agency confirmed the update but said he could not comment further citing “privacy, safety, and security reasons” for inmates.
Holmes had reported to a minimum-security, federal women’s prison camp located in Bryan, Texas, on 30 May after being convicted in November 2022 on four counts of defrauding investors and sentenced to 11 years and three months. Her new date of release means she will instead serve about nine years and seven months.
She had been out on bail since she was indicted on fraud charges in 2018 over her role as the head of the failed blood-testing firm. During that time, she had two children with her partner, Billy Evans.
Inmates in the US can have their sentences reduced for good conduct, including completing job assignments, following orders, and completing substance abuse programs and other rehabilitation courses, the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. That gained time can also be revoked or forfeited over disciplinary concerns or other infractions.
The reduction seen by Holmes is in line with federal sentencing guidelines, which states that people convicted of federal offenses must serve 85% of their mandated sentence, even if they get time shaved off for good conduct.
Lawyers for Holmes did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The sentencing change comes after her co-conspirator, Sunny Balwani, also saw two years shaved off of his 13-year sentence, with his projected date of release now 1 April 2034, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.
Holmes and Balwani were convicted in separate trials for their actions at the head of Theranos, a multibillion-dollar biotech company that collapsed spectacularly after reporting from the Wall Street Journal and others revealed its technology to be largely fraudulent.
Government lawyers for the prosecution teams did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Holmes will also face three years of supervised release after her sentence ends and has been ordered to pay $452m in restitution to victims of the fraud, though a judge has delayed those payments due to her “limited financial resources”.
Lawyers for Holmes have appealed her conviction, and proceedings for that process have been under way while she serves her sentence.
Seems like a normal thing, maybe slight preferrential treatment, but even going to prison for a year in her position is going to be humiliating and a real wake up call. I find people throw around numbers of years for offenses saying this should be at least 15 or 20 or whatever. But think about 10 years gone even…like that’s a lot of time for someone to lose. So you’ve gone from media darling and the crazy lifestyle of the rich to prison, and now despite her trying every trick in the book to get out of it, it’s just a 9 or 10 years thing to look forward to. So if it should be longer or not at least it’s something. I know people have gone to jail for longer for less, but that also shouldn’t happen. And then some people should probably just never get out because they are a danger to society and will never be rehabilitated.