Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes asks Trump to commute her prison sentence

By Jasper Ward ⁠and Jonathan ⁠Stempel

WASHINGTON, ‍Jan 21 (Reuters) - Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of now-defunct blood testing startup Theranos, has asked U.S. ‍President Donald Trump to release her from prison ​with nearly six years left before she is eligible for ​release.

Holmes sought to commute her 11-1/4-year sentence last year and her request remains pending, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's ​Office of the Pardon Attorney.

Now 41, Holmes was convicted in 2022 on four counts of wire ​fraud and conspiracy for cheating investors, and ordered to pay $452 million in ‌restitution. A federal appeals court upheld her conviction and sentence last February.

Prosecutors said Holmes ​lied to investors from 2010 ⁠to 2015 by promising Theranos' technology could run many medical tests on one blood ‌drop from a finger prick.

Theranos was once valued at $9 billion, and Forbes magazine estimated Holmes' net worth at $4.5 billion ‌in 2015.

Holmes would still owe restitution if Trump released her ‌from prison, but would not owe it if he pardoned her.

She is housed at a minimum security federal prison camp in ‍Bryan, Texas, and eligible for release in December 2031.

The White House declined to ⁠comment on Holmes' request. Lawyers for Holmes did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Jamie Freed)

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