Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison, Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Asks Donald Trump for Commute

From $9 Billion Valuation to Federal Prison, The Story of Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes

Elizabeth Holmes, the former chief executive of the now-defunct blood-testing company Theranos, was once a super-famous billionaire in the Silicon Valley health sector. Her company was once valued at around $9 billion (£7.1 billion GBP approx), and Holmes was seen by many as one of the most promising people in US technology, hyped for her supposed reinventions in medical diagnostics.

However, more than 10 years later, the world is watching as the 41-year-old, facing a long prison sentence, makes a big appeal to US President Donald Trump to commute her punishment. It is not a first for commuting as a practice in general, as Trump's record of issuing clemencies to many individuals is well known, positioning her request as a chance for early release and a chance at redemption.

The Rise and Fall of Theranos and Holmes's Sentence

Elizabeth Holmes's story is one of shocking developments. She founded Theranos in the early 2000s, dropping out of Stanford University around the age of 20 with a big vision. Her aim was to revolutionise blood testing by developing machines capable of performing a huge range of medical tests using only a tiny amount of blood from a finger prick. At its peak, Theranos was valued at around $9 billion (£7.1 billion GBP), and Holmes herself was called the youngest self-made female billionaire, especially in the biotech industry.

However, the first problems in her story occurred in 2015 when the Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou revealed that Theranos's technology did not function as Holmes had claimed. Regulators and whistleblowers began questioning the company's tests, leading to the eventual collapse of Theranos. Regulatory scrutiny forced the company to retract many of its tests and recall devices that had already been distributed. Holmes resigned as CEO in 2018, and the company was dissolved soon after.

Moreover, criminal charges soon followed. Holmes was indicted on multiple counts of wire fraud and conspiracy, accused of misleading investors about the capabilities of her blood-testing technology. In January 2022, a federal jury found her guilty on four counts related to defrauding investors.

She was acquitted of charges related to patients, but the convictions for investor fraud carried notable weight. In November 2022, Holmes was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison, specifically 11 years and three months, and ordered to pay restitution upto $452 million (£358 million approx) as part of the judgment. She began serving her sentence at a low-security federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas, in May 2023.

Now, her projected release date, accounting for good behaviour in prison, is currently set for December 2031 as per reports, nearly six years from now.

Holmes Seeks Commutation from Donald Trump

Most recently, Elizabeth Holmes has formally asked US President Donald Trump to commute her prison sentence, according to a notice posted on the United States Department of Justice website, as per reports. A commutation is a form of executive clemency that does not overturn a conviction but reduces or ends the remaining portion of a sentence. This request was reportedly submitted in 2025 and remains pending with the Office of the Pardon Attorney, which oversees clemency petitions.

Furthermore, Trump, in the early months of his second presidential term, has already granted clemency to more than 1,600 people, as per reports, most famously those connected with the January 6 incident on the United States Capitol. However, the White House has not yet publicly commented on the petition, and the review process can be lengthy.