The federal court judge set to sentence convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes in September ordered Tuesday that she put up property worth $500,000 to help ensure she will not flee to avoid an expected multi-year prison sentence.
The Theranos founder was convicted by a jury in January in U.S. District Court in San Jose of four felony counts, for defrauding investors in her Palo Alto blood-testing startup. Those investors lost $144 million, with legal experts saying Judge Edward Davila, during Holmes’ sentencing, may consider the entirety of funders’ losses, which the federal government has alleged topped $700 million. Holmes, the mother of a child born in July, has remained free during her legal proceedings and while awaiting her sentence.
After Holmes’ conviction, prosecutors told Davila they planned to ask him to convert her $500,000 bail — secured only by her signature, as is common in federal cases — to cash or property of equivalent value.
