Elizabeth Holmes: Theranos’ disgraced founder delayed going to jail after winning appeal | business news

Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced tech billionaire convicted of fraud, avoided serving her 11-year sentence on Thursday after a judge backed her appeal to delay.

holmes39, who founded Theranos, was subsequently sentenced to 11 years and three months be found guilty of three counts of investor fraud and one count of conspiracy in November after a four-month trial.

Theranos, a Silicon Valley sensation, promised to test for dozens of diseases with a single blood test, but found the technology was flawed.

Holmes and her former partner and subordinate, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwanihave been accused of investing nearly $1 billion ($803 million) in the company.

Balwani, 57, is serving a nearly 13-year sentence after being convicted on 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy.

A San Francisco judge on Wednesday upheld Holmes’ attorneys’ appeal against a lower court’s decision to deny her release while she appealed her original fraud conviction.

Earlier this month, Judge Edward Davila denied a request for her release pending further appeals and ordered her to report to a minimum-security prison near Houston on Thursday.

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Theranos founder appeals ‘unjust’ conviction
How Silicon Valley darling Elizabeth Holmes fell from grace

But late Tuesday, Holmes’ lawyers appealed, saying the decision contained “numerous, inexplicable errors,” including references to “patient fraud convictions,” even though the jury acquitted Holmes on those charges, Sky’s US affiliate told NBC News.

holmes was sentenced in November for what prosecutors have described as “one of the most serious white-collar crimes Silicon Valley or any district has seen.”

She became America’s youngest-ever self-made billionaire in 2014, but after the technology was exposed as a scam, the company – once valued at $9 billion (£7.3 billion) – quickly collapsed.

Prosecutors have until May 3 to respond to Holmes’ latest request, NBC News said.

Holmes’ tenure begins some 20 years after she left Stanford to found Theranos, inspired by the successes of Silicon Valley heavyweights like Apple Chief Steve Jobs.

She has two children, both fathered by current partner William “Billy” Evans, whom she met after splitting from Balwani.

Her amazing rise and fall from storied billionaire to the brink of prison has inspired documentaries, podcasts and an award-winning TV drama – The Dropout – starring Amanda Seyfried as Holmes.