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Appeals court denies Elizabeth Holmes' appeal to stay out of prison


Elizabeth Holmes, the former CEO of Theranos, had her attempt to stay out of prison on appeal, denied on Tuesday. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

May 17 (UPI) -- An appeals court denied Elizabeth Holmes' attempt to stay out of prison while she appeals her conviction of defrauding investors.

A three-judge panel for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that Holmes, 39, failed to raise a "substantial question" of law or fact in the case that was likely to see her sentence overturned.

Holmes, the founder of the failed blood-testing startup Theranos, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in November after she was found guilty of making false and misleading statements to investors about developing a device that could run a full range of blood tests with only a finger-prick sample.

She had been set to report to prison on April 27, but that date was delayed as a result of her appeal. Tuesday's order did not include a new reporting date.

Holmes, appealed her sentence in February, citing her "two very young children" as her attorneys argued why should remain out of prison.

Her lawyers had also argued that U.S. District Judge Edward Davila made "numerous, inexplicable errors" presiding over her case.

Also Tuesday, Davila ordered Holmes to pay $452 million in restitution to victims of the Theranos fraud, including a group of investors and former Theranos partners Walgreens and Safeway.

Davila had previously recommended that Holmes serve her sentence at a low-security prison in Texas that allows for family visitations.