Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of health technology company Theranos, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for fraud despite being pregnant

Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of health technology company Theranos, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for fraud after she was exposed for deceiving her Silicon Valley investors into funding her start-up with false promises. 

The company gained worldwide recognition in 2013 following Elizabeth’s claims she had invented a revolutionary blood testing kit that only required small amounts of blood, and performed accurate results in as little as 20 minutes. Turns out it was all a lie and her Theranos company was a complete hoax, used to swindle investors out of their pockets.

Elizabeth, who had amassed a $4.5 billion net worth at the peak of her criminal activities, was backed by her legal team, who fought to have her serve a maximum sentence of 18 months, but prosecutors shot back, insisting that her “arrogance” throughout the trial and lack of acknowledgment in her wrongdoings deserved at least 15 years. A judge ultimately ruled for her to serve 11 years. Elizabeth was also ordered to pay back $121 million to 10 of Theranos’ biggest investors — including media proprietor Rupert Murdoch.

The 38-year-old’s legal team, alongside her husband William Evans, asked the judge for mercy given that the convicted fraudster is currently pregnant with her second child, but even that wasn’t enough to lessen her punishment. In 2014, Forbes famously named Elizabeth one of the richest people in America — a feat she achieved through fraudulent tactics which she’s now set to face the repercussions for.