Elizabeth Holmes has more months shaved off prison sentence, records show

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Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has shaved several more months off her jail time, prison records show.

Holmes, 40, was convicted in January 2022 on four counts of fraud and conspiracy for lying about the capabilities of her biotech company’s blood testing technology, and conning investors out of millions of dollars.

She was sentenced to 11 years and is being housed at minimum security federal prison, Camp Bryan, in Texas.

In July 2023, The Independent reported that Holmes’s prison sentence had been shortened by nearly two years, making her projected release date December 29, 2032.

Now, according to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) database, Holmes’s projected release date has been shortened by more than four months and is listed as August 16, 2032.

According to the BOP, prisoners can be granted early release for good behaviour, completion of substance abuse programmes or receive credit for “productive activities”.

A BOP spokesperson previously told The Independent that every inmate earns a sentence discount of 54 days, per year, for every year they are deemed to have met good conduct requirements under the First Step Act.

In addition, inmates can have more time taken off their sentences by earning time credits that accrue when they complete certain prison and work programmes, part of the federal government’s way to reduce recidivism and ease the prison population.

It is unclear what Holmes has done to earn more time off her sentence.The Independent contacted Holmes’s representatives for more information about her reduced sentence on Monday.

As well as prison time, Holmes and her former partner and Theranos COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who was convicted at a separate trial of 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy, were also ordered to repay victims $452m.

Holmes claimed to have developed medical devices that could diagnose hundreds of diseases and medical conditions with just a pinprick of blood.

But when it emerged that the blood testing technology didn’t do what she claimed it did, the company imploded and she was charged with fraud and conspiracy in 2018.

During her time at Camp Bryan, Holmes has reportedly struck up a close friendship with ex-Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah, who is also serving time at the institution.

An earlier version of this article, published on 6 May, 2024, stated that Holmes’ previous projected release date was December 29, 2023, and that her new projected release date was August 16, 3032. These errors have been corrected