Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes enters prison

Elizabeth Holmes, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur who swindled millions, must serve eleven years in a women's prison in Bryan, Texas.

La fundadora de Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, entró el martes 30 de mayo en la prisión de Bryan, en Texas, para cumplir con sus once años de condena. — (Cordon Press)

Published by

Rosana Rábago Sainz

30 de mayo, 2023

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Sixteen months. That is how long it has taken Elizabeth Holmes to enter prison. The founder of Theranos was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison in January 2022, and this Tuesday, May 30, she begins serving her sentence after defrauding millions of people with an invention that did not actually exist. She will serve her sentence at the women's prison located in Bryan, Texas. The prison is located just a few hundred miles from Houston, where several of her family members live.

The Silicon Valley entrepreneur, who swindled millions, thus exchanges the house she rented for $13,000 a month for a cell that she will have to share with three other inmates. The Wall Street Journal reports that her cell is smaller than the smallest bathroom in the home where she resided until Tuesday:

Each room has two sets of bunk beds with mattresses the thickness of a hand. In the cell there are lockers to store personal belongings, a folding chair for each inmate, a table and no door. Chairs should be folded and stacked against the wall when not in use. The bathrooms are at the end of the corridor.

Holmes' new life in prison

The businesswoman is also aware of what her day-to-day life will be like after May 30. The Bryan, Texas, regulation is quite clear on this matter. She must get up at 6 a.m. After that, she has to make her bed, sweep and mop the floor of her cell, pick up any garbage and make sure that her cell is always in the best hygienic and sanitary conditions. Failure to comply with these basic rules, including weekends and holidays, will result in penalties.

In addition, Holmes will be confined to her cell and will not be able to move freely in the common areas she will share with 720 other prisoners. She may only access them on a controlled schedule. She must go through five routine prisoner counts a day, but she may have an MP3 player, a radio and a watch to keep her company, although she is prohibited from using them at the same time.

What she will be able to do is to receive visits from family and friends. That is the reason Elizabeth Holmes will serve her sentence in Bryan Prison in Texas. The businesswoman became a mother during the judicial process and currently has two daughters under two years old whom she will be able to see on weekends and holidays while serving her sentence.