Prosecutors Allege “Theranos” Fraudster Elizabeth Holmes Tried to Flee Country

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes According to Friday’s court filing, she attempted to flee the country after being convicted last year of defrauding investors regarding the company’s blood-testing technology. 

According to a California federal judge filing, Holmes had booked a one way flight to Mexico for Jan 26, 2022. That was just weeks after she was convicted. 

“The government became aware on January 23, 2022, that Defendant Holmes booked an international flight to Mexico departing on January 26, 2022, without a scheduled return trip,” The court filing states. “Only after the government raised this unauthorized flight with defense counsel was the trip canceled.”

THERANOS FOUNDER ELIZABETH HOLMES IN COURT; ANATOMY OF A FRAUD

Elizabeth Holmes, former CEO of Theranos, arrives at a federal court in San Jose on Mon. Oct. 17, 2022. According to prosecutors, Holmes booked a one-way trip to Mexico. This poses a flight danger. ( AP Photo/Jeff Chiu / AP Newsroom)

The filing said Holmes’ husband, William Evans, still went on the trip but didn’t return to the U.S. for roughly six weeks, and did so from another continent.

Lance Wade, Holmes’ lawyer, stated in an email that the trip to Mexico was booked prior to the guilty verdict.  

“The hope was that the verdict would be different and Ms. Holmes would be able to make this trip to attend the wedding of close friends in Mexico,” He wrote. “Given the verdict, she does not plan to take the trip – and therefore did not provide notice, seek permission or request access to her passport (which the government has) for the trip.”

FOX Business reached out to Wade in order for comments. 

Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos’ chief executive gestures while speaking at a Wall Street Journal technology conference. (Glenn Chapman/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images

According to the filing, Holmes was expected to argue that she did not leave the country. “it is difficult to know with certainty what Defendant would have done had the government not intervened.”

Holmes, who is currently pregnant, was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment for defrauding investors. She ran her failed blood-testing company, Theranos, and defrauded them of hundreds of million dollars. On April 27, Holmes is scheduled to report to prison.

While her appeal is pending, she has asked to be free. Prosecutors argue that Holmes should be imprisoned. They said Holmes should begin serving her sentence instead of living on an estate where monthly expenses exceed more than $13,000.

“There are not two systems of justice—one for the wealthy and one for the poor—there is one criminal justice system in this country,” Prosecutors wrote. “And under that system, the time has come for Elizabeth Holmes to answer for her crimes committed nearly a decade ago.”

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After leaving Stanford University, Holmes founded Theranos. Investors and Silicon Valley alike were enthralled by the promise that Theranos technology could diagnose a wide range of diseases using just a few blood samples. from a patient Instead of traditional vials of blood taken from a patient’s venous vein,

After raising over $900 million from investors, she became a billionaire. But things started to fall apart in 2015 when The Wall Street Journal revealed that Theranos was using traditional machines rather than its own technology for testing.  

This report was contributed by David Aaro, Fox Business. 

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