Elizabeth Holmes goes back to court in an attempt to evade imprisonment.

Elizabeth Holmes

On March 17, 2023, Elizabeth Holmes, the past CEO of Theranos, departed from the federal court situated in San Jose, California.

Elizabeth Holmes, the ex-CEO of Theranos and her companion, Billy Evans, were seen departing federal court in San Jose, California on Friday, March 17, 2023.

On Friday, March 17, 2023, Elizabeth Holmes, the previous CEO of Theranos, was spotted walking towards federal court in San Jose, California, accompanied by her partner Billy Evans and mother Noel Holmes.

The ex-CEO of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, and her companion, Billy Evans, departed federal court in San Jose on Friday, March 17, 2023.

The ex-CEO of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, showed up at a federal court in San Jose, California on Friday, March 17th, 2023.

Elizabeth Holmes, who was the CEO of Theranos before, was seen going to a court hearing in San Jose on March 17, 2023. She was accompanied by her partner Billy Evans, father Christian Holmes IV, and mother Noel Holmes.

Elizabeth Holmes, the ex-CEO of Theranos, was seen heading towards a federal court in San Jose, California, accompanied by her partner Billy Evans, father Christian Holmes IV, and mother Noel Holmes on Friday, March 17, 2023.

Elizabeth Holmes, the ex-CEO of Theranos, was seen arriving at a federal court in San Jose, California on March 17th, 2023.

Elizabeth Holmes, the ex-CEO of Theranos, and her companion, Billy Evans, exited a federal court in San Jose, California, on March 17, 2023.

Elizabeth Holmes, who used to be the CEO of Theranos, along with her companion Billy Evans, departed from a federal court in San Jose, California on Friday, March 17, 2023.

Rewritten: The blog section was authored by an AP Technology Writer named Michael Liedtke.

Elizabeth Holmes, the embattled CEO of Theranos, had what could potentially be her last court appearance on Friday. She faces an 11-year imprisonment sentence, unless her defense team successfully appeals her conviction for orchestrating a fraudulent blood testing scheme. If a judge does not grant her request to stay out of prison during the appeal process, this appearance may mark the end of her freedom for a significant amount of time.

Holmes' court hearing lasted for 90 minutes and took place after four months. During her previous hearing, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila sentenced her for deceiving investors in Theranos, a company she established two decades ago. She initially became famous and wealthy from the claims that her company had a groundbreaking blood-testing technology.

Prior to the beginning of the hearing, an attendee in the San Jose, California courtroom attempted to approach Holmes' table while holding a piece of paper. Security personnel intervened hastily and forced the individual to leave. Despite the interruption, Holmes appeared unperturbed.

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The legal process ended without a decision regarding whether Holmes, who is 39 years old, will be granted the ability to remain free during the progress of her appeal or if she must turn herself in to authorities on the currently set date of April 27. Davila, the presiding judge, anticipates making his verdict known early in the month of April.

Earlier this month, the judge denied a similar attempt to escape imprisonment by Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who was formerly in a romantic relationship with Elizabeth Holmes and was also convicted for his involvement in the Theranos scam. Balwani was found guilty on 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy and was sentenced to nearly 13 years in jail. Despite having to report to a federal prison in Southern California on Thursday, Balwani's attorney managed a last-minute legal strategy to buy more time.

At the St. Patrick's Day hearing, Holmes dressed up in a black blazer and a blue skirt. As per the court records, she became a mother for the second time, but they did not mention the gender or birth date of her newborn baby.

Amy Saharia, one of her attorneys, claimed that Holmes deserves to stay out of jail because there were multiple mistakes made in the way evidence was presented and withheld during her four-month trial. These errors increase the chances of her conviction being overturned on four separate counts of conspiracy and fraud by an appeals court.

Saharia stated that there are many problems in the record. She mentioned that Davila did not allow the jury to view Balwani's deposition, which was given during a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Theranos' collapse. Holmes' defense team believed that it could have proved her innocence.

Kelly Volkar, who works for the government as a prosecutor, argued that it's highly unlikely for Holmes' conviction to be overturned. During the trial, it was revealed that Holmes deceived people in seven different ways in order to run her company, Theranos. Most of the deception was about a device called "Edison" that she had claimed could detect hundreds of diseases and other health issues by taking just a small amount of blood with a finger prick.

However, the Edison machine was producing inconsistent and unpredictable outcomes. As a result, Theranos decided to switch over to using well-established third-party lab equipment which was commonly used in the industry. This change was kept hidden by Holmes in an attempt to save the company from collapse.

Volkar brought to Davila's attention that investors were utterly stunned.

The two groups with different views argued about the amount of compensation that Holmes should give to investors who were cheated. Investors had briefly believed in her company and made her wealth reach $4.5 billion, but that value ended up being false due to the downfall of Theranos.

The federal prosecutor, Robert Leach, stated that Elizabeth Holmes' conviction for plotting a conspiracy verifies the need to pay back almost $900 million to the investors who were deceived by her. Leach disclosed that it's logical to return the money that the investors had initially invested, as they are the ones who faced the loss.

However, Holmes' legal representative, Patrick Looby, argued that the prosecutors were incorrect in demanding a complete compensation. He pointed out that the jury in her trial was unable to make a decision on three charges of investor fraud, leading to the prosecutor dismissing those charges. According to Looby, at the most, Holmes should only be obligated to pay back the limited number of investors who testified during her trial.

The Associated Press holds the copyright for this material until the year 2023. Any unauthorized use, such as publication, broadcasting, rewriting or redistribution, is strictly prohibited and requires permission.

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