Elizabeth Holmes’ prison sentence was quietly shortened by two years, new records show.

An update to Holmes’ profile on the website of the Bureau of Prisons now projects her release date as 12 December 2032, two years sooner than initially scheduled. A spokesman for the federal agency confirmed the update but said he could not comment further citing “privacy, safety, and security reasons” for inmates.

Holmes had reported to a minimum-security, federal women’s prison camp located in Bryan, Texas, on 30 May after being convicted in November 2022 on four counts of defrauding investors and sentenced to 11 years and three months. Her new date of release means she will instead serve about nine years and seven months.

She had been out on bail since she was indicted on fraud charges in 2018 over her role as the head of the failed blood-testing firm. During that time, she had two children with her partner, Billy Evans.

Inmates in the US can have their sentences reduced for good conduct, including completing job assignments, following orders, and completing substance abuse programs and other rehabilitation courses, the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. That gained time can also be revoked or forfeited over disciplinary concerns or other infractions.

The reduction seen by Holmes is in line with federal sentencing guidelines, which states that people convicted of federal offenses must serve 85% of their mandated sentence, even if they get time shaved off for good conduct.

Lawyers for Holmes did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The sentencing change comes after her co-conspirator, Sunny Balwani, also saw two years shaved off of his 13-year sentence, with his projected date of release now 1 April 2034, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.

Holmes and Balwani were convicted in separate trials for their actions at the head of Theranos, a multibillion-dollar biotech company that collapsed spectacularly after reporting from the Wall Street Journal and others revealed its technology to be largely fraudulent.

Government lawyers for the prosecution teams did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Holmes will also face three years of supervised release after her sentence ends and has been ordered to pay $452m in restitution to victims of the fraud, though a judge has delayed those payments due to her “limited financial resources”.

Lawyers for Holmes have appealed her conviction, and proceedings for that process have been under way while she serves her sentence.

  • @timespace@lemmy.ninja
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    331 year ago

    I’m sorry, what now? She stole people’s money, was ordered to pay it back, then was told she didn’t have to pay it back right now because if she did she wouldn’t have any (stolen) money left…? The fuck kinda billshit is that?

    • xuxebiko
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      71 year ago

      wealthy and white is apparently a reduced-jail-sentence card if it can’t be an outright get-out-of-jail card.

    • APassenger
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      41 year ago

      While I’m concerned about the financial fraud and all, she was running a scam on people’s health.

      This isn’t simply dollars. Not that the scale of her financial scam isn’t enough.

    • exscape
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      21 year ago

      Do you have a source about the part of not paying the money back?

        • exscape
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          11 year ago

          … where more specifically? The only thing I find is this:

          Holmes will also face three years of supervised release after her sentence ends and has been ordered to pay $452m in restitution to victims of the fraud, though a judge has delayed those payments due to her “limited financial resources”.

          … which doesn’t state she get to keep any of the money she stole.

          • @timespace@lemmy.ninja
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            11 year ago

            Hm, I’m confused by your confusion lol.

            Maybe read my original comment again? I’m not sure how to clear this up.

            • exscape
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              01 year ago

              She obviously doesn’t have the money left to pay WITH. It’s not that she’s sitting with $452M in the bank that she can’t return “because if she did she wouldn’t have any (stolen) money left”.

              • @timespace@lemmy.ninja
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                11 year ago

                How is that obvious? Do you have access to her bak account? Her hidden offshore accounts? The rest of her assets?

                She stole a shitload of money. I don’t buy that she doesn’t have any money left and can’t pay at least some of it back now.

      • @nestEggParrot
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        11 year ago

        Maybe. But she also defrauded innocent customers by offering fake or inaccurate blood tests. Thats the far greater crime.

          • @nestEggParrot
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            11 year ago

            She diluted the blood samples way too muchtfor them to be accurate even on certified machines.

            One of her selling points was “with a drop of blood” or something along those lines for a full battery of tests.

            Turns out even running a long list of legitimate tests needed vials of blood, way more than a couple drops.

  • AdventureSpoon
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    1 year ago

    Before too many people come in saying she needs a longer sentence just a quick reminder; The singular only reason she is serving time at all is because she stole money from other rich assholes. Had she just scammed the poor rubes likes us here as the top class is supposed to do she would probably still be on several boards and gotten press coverage as the “inspirational power woman who bounced back”.

    • Pili
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      61 year ago

      She scammed rich investors AND poor consumers. And most importantly, she has put the lives of many people in danger by knowingly providing them with erroneous medical information.

      It doesn’t matter to me the reason she’s going to jail, I just want her to stay there for a very long time because she’s dangerous and I don’t believe this kind of people can be reabilitated.

      • @dudebro@lemmy.world
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        51 year ago

        Fun fact: she only got convicted of defrauding investors, not customers lol.

        What a shitty world we live in.

  • @Raphael@lemmy.world
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    121 year ago

    If she were a black worker who stole a pack of cigarettes, she would have gotten 30 years in prison.

  • @knfrmity@lemmygrad.ml
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    121 year ago

    The only reason she went to prison in the first place is because she defrauded wealthy capitalists. I fully expect to see her out in less than five.

  • @Quentinp@lemmy.ca
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    51 year ago

    Seems like a normal thing, maybe slight preferrential treatment, but even going to prison for a year in her position is going to be humiliating and a real wake up call. I find people throw around numbers of years for offenses saying this should be at least 15 or 20 or whatever. But think about 10 years gone even…like that’s a lot of time for someone to lose. So you’ve gone from media darling and the crazy lifestyle of the rich to prison, and now despite her trying every trick in the book to get out of it, it’s just a 9 or 10 years thing to look forward to. So if it should be longer or not at least it’s something. I know people have gone to jail for longer for less, but that also shouldn’t happen. And then some people should probably just never get out because they are a danger to society and will never be rehabilitated.

  • @hoshikarakitaridia@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    I don’t think this is as big of a thing as the news make it out to be. It’s literally on par with sentencing guidelines for everyone else.

    The real annoying thing is that this kind of crime should be higher on the sentencing guidelines because the victims are far reaching.

    Maybe I’m the only one. If so, happy to hear any comment on why you think that the reduction itself is a bad thing :)

    • 133arc585
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      71 year ago

      It’s literally on par with sentencing guidelines for everyone else.

      But it’s not. It’s on par with treatment for other people like her. It’s not the case for the vast majority of prisoners in the USA.

      The real annoying thing is that this kind of crime should be higher on the sentencing guidelines because the victims are far reaching.

      If your argument is that the sentence should be longer than the one given, how do you also say that you have no issue with it being shortened? Those are opposites.

      why you think that the reduction itself is a bad thing

      In general, I’m not. But I’m extremely against unfair application of the reduction to people like her, leaving others to suffer needlessly.

  • 133arc585
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    1 year ago

    Absolutely disgusting. Any facade of justice in the USA is just that, a facade.

    Inmates in the US can have their sentences reduced for good conduct, including completing job assignments, following orders, and completing substance abuse programs and other rehabilitation courses

    She’s been in a bit over a month. 42 days.

  • @SheeEttin@lemmy.world
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    21 year ago

    Honestly I’d trade all of her prison time for garnished wages until the people she defrauded are repaid. I don’t think the taxpayers should be paying her room and board.