Person
Elizabeth Holmes
Founder and chief executive of Theranos; convicted in 2022 of defrauding its investors.
- CEO of Theranos 2003–2018
SEC v. Theranos, Holmes and Balwani
- Charged by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: fraud on investors 1
- Settled with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: $500,000, without admitting or denying the allegations 1
United States v. Holmes
- Convicted by U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California: one conspiracy count and three wire fraud counts, all on investors; sentenced to 135 months; affirmed by the Ninth Circuit on 24 February 2025; a request for commutation was pending in January 2026 2345
- Acquitted by U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California: the patient-related conspiracy count and three patient wire fraud counts; the jury could not agree on three investor counts 2
A charge is an accusation, not a finding of guilt.
Connections 7
founded
CEO of
charged by
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 14 Mar 2018 fraud on investors Primary record 1
convicted by
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California 3 Jan 2022 one conspiracy count and three wire fraud counts, all on investors; sentenced to 135 months; affirmed by the Ninth Circuit on 24 February 2025; a request for commutation was pending in January 2026 Primary record 2345
acquitted by
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California 3 Jan 2022 the patient-related conspiracy count and three patient wire fraud counts; the jury could not agree on three investor counts Primary record 2
settled with
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 14 Mar 2018 $500,000, without admitting or denying the allegations Primary record 1
involved in
- Trials of Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh Balwani defendant Primary record 2
Timeline 6 dates
- 2003 Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos
- 2003–2018 Elizabeth Holmes CEO of Theranos
- 14 Mar 2018 Elizabeth Holmes charged by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- 14 Mar 2018 Elizabeth Holmes settled with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- 3 Jan 2022 Elizabeth Holmes convicted by U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- 3 Jan 2022 Elizabeth Holmes acquitted by U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Proof 5 sources
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Theranos, CEO Holmes, and Former President Balwani Charged With Massive Fraud (press release 2018-41), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 14 Mar 2018.
Primary record
Archived copy
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Silicon Valley-based private company Theranos Inc., its founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes, and its former President Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani with raising more than $700 million from investors through an elaborate, years-long fraud
Theranos and Holmes neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the SEC’s complaint.
Holmes agreed to pay a $500,000 penalty, be barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years
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Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Found Guilty Of Investor Fraud, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California, 3 Jan 2022.
Primary record
Archived copy
A jury found Elizabeth A. Holmes guilty of one count of conspiracy and three counts of wire fraud in connection with a multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud investors in Theranos, Inc.
The jury acquitted Holmes of the patient-related conspiracy wire fraud count and three additional wire fraud counts.
The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict with respect to three investor fraud-related counts.
The verdicts follow a 15-week trial before the Honorable Edward J. Davila, United States District Judge.
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Elizabeth Holmes Sentenced To More Than 11 Years For Defrauding Theranos Investors Of Hundreds Of Millions, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California, 18 Nov 2022.
Primary record
Archived copy
Elizabeth A. Holmes was sentenced today to 135 months (11 years, 3 months) in federal prison for defrauding investors in Theranos, Inc. of hundreds of millions of dollars
Holmes, 38, of Woodside, Calif., founded Theranos in 2003 and held the positions of Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer.
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United States v. Holmes and Balwani, Nos. 22-10312 and 22-10338 (9th Cir. 2025), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 24 Feb 2025.
Primary record
The panel affirmed Elizabeth Holmes’s and Ranesh “Sunny” Balwani’s convictions on numerous fraud charges, their sentences, and the district court’s $452 million restitution order
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Elizabeth Holmes asks Trump administration to commute her prison sentence, ABC News, 21 Jan 2026.
Scholarship & press
Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has asked the Trump administration to commute her prison sentence, according to the U.S. Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney.
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