Elizabeth Holmes Objects to Government Requesting She Pay $250 a Month to Victims After Prison
Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced former Theranos CEO, is arguing that she has “limited financial means” and should not be required to pay $250 per month to the victims of her crimes once she is released from prison, according to a court filing by her lawyers.
This development comes after federal prosecutors acknowledged in a separate filing that a lack of payment schedule for Holmes’ restitution was due to clerical errors.
Initially, Holmes and former Theranos COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani were ordered to pay $452 million in restitution to the victims of their fraudulent activities.
Holmes began serving her more than 11-year sentence last month in Texas after being convicted early last year for defrauding investors in the failed blood-testing startup Theranos.
Federal prosecutors have requested that once Holmes is on supervised release, she should make monthly payments of $250 or at least 10% of her wages, whichever is greater, towards the criminal monetary penalties.
In response, Holmes’ attorneys argue that there is no evidence to support the proposed payment structure by the government. However, they do not object to Holmes being asked to start paying $25 per quarter as part of her restitution while she is still in prison.
During her imprisonment at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, Holmes could potentially work and earn wages ranging from $0.12 to $1.15 per hour, according to information about the prison.
Theranos, once valued at $9 billion and claiming to have developed groundbreaking blood-testing technology, faced a downfall following a critical report by the Wall Street Journal that raised doubts about the company’s assertions.
As part of the original restitution order, a significant portion of the owed amount, including millions of dollars, is designated for media mogul Rupert Murdoch and other investors who put their money into Theranos.
