Why did Elizabeth Holmes go to jail? Former Theranos CEO calls life in prison “hell and torture”

Former Theranos CEO, Elizabeth Holmes was convicted by a jury in January 2022, in California for fraud and conspiracy over the collapse of Theranos - a billion-dollar biotech corporation she founded.

The jury convicted her for making false claims to the investors about medical devices, she claimed could detect hundreds of diseases with just a few drops of blood. Federal judge, Edward Davila, ordered an 11-year sentence (later reduced to nine years for good behavior) for Holmes and ordered her to pay $452 million in restitution to investors.

After spending nearly two years of her nine-year sentence which began in May 2023, three months after she gave birth to her daughter, Elizabeth opened up in a prison interview with People Magazine published on February 12. In the interview, Elizabeth called prison life "hell and torture" and denied having a second child to delay the start of her prison sentence.

"I always wanted to be a mother. I truly did not think I would ever be convicted or found guilty."

Per the outlet, Elizabeth Holmes used to collect milk in a plastic bag for her newborn at the beginning of her sentence.

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"I'm not the person I was back then" - says Elizabeth Holmes

After starting her prison sentence in May 2023, Elizabeth Holmes is set to be released in April 2032. While speaking to People Magazine in an exclusive prison interview, Holmes opened up about her life in prison,

"I'm not the same person I was back then."

She said that there are things she "would have done differently" and feels surreal for the outside world to have opinions about her.

"It's surreal. People who have never met me believe so strongly about me. They don't understand who I am."

Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos, a health technology company in 2003 when she was 20. Holmes dropped out of Stanford and used her tuition money to fund the corporation. In 2015, an exposé detailing allegations from former employees was published by The Wall Street Journal, and the founder was convicted by a jury of fraud and conspiracy in January 2022.

Holmes became America's youngest self-made billionaire in 2014 and was hailed as the next Steve Jobs. Her rise to fame and fall was depicted in Hulu's miniseries The Dropout starring Amanda Seyfried as Holmes.

In the interview, Holmes also revealed the plans she has post-release in April 2032, which is to travel with her family and fight for reform of the criminal justice system.