Judge denies Elizabeth Holmes’ request to stay out of prison while she appeals fraud conviction

A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of the disgraced blood-testing company Theranos, cannot remain free on bail while she appeals her fraud conviction.

According to court documents filed Monday, Judge Edward Davila ruled that the portion of the conviction that Holmes is appealing is not likely to be overturned. A jury found Holmes guilty in January 2022 on four counts of fraud in connection with her leadership at Theranos. In November, she was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.

In his latest decision, Davila noted Holmes is challenging her conviction based on rulings about what evidence was presented during her trial, specifically about whether Theranos products ‘worked as promised.’

Davila said Holmes’ conviction was not solely based on that issue, but also about the company’s finances, purported corporate partnerships and her false claims to investors.

“Whether the jury heard more or less evidence that tended to show the accuracy and reliability of Theranos technology does not diminish the evidence the jury heard of other misrepresentations Ms. Holmes made to investors,” Davila said.

Davila did concur that Holmes does not represent a flight risk, even though her fiancé, Billy Evans, purchased a one-way ticket to Mexico for them that was scheduled to depart a few weeks after the jury had rendered its verdict.

“Booking international travel plans for a criminal defendant in anticipation of a complete defense victory is a bold move, and the failure to promptly cancel those plans after a guilty verdict is a perilously careless oversight,” the judge wrote in his filing Monday.

However, Davila said he’d accepted Holmes’ argument, based on communications, that the flight ticket, “while ill-advised,” was not an attempt to flee the country.

Holmes, who recently gave birth to her second child, is expected to report to a minimum-security facility on April 27.