UPDATE: Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is urgently seeking to have her prison sentence commuted by the Trump administration, according to the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney. Holmes, aged 41, has nearly six years remaining on her sentence for defrauding investors with false claims about her company’s blood-testing technology.
The request was filed in 2025 and is currently marked as “pending,” indicating it is under review by authorities. The Office of the Pardon Attorney has stated that details regarding specific case reviews cannot be disclosed. Holmes’ current release date is set for December 30, 2031, as per the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Holmes was convicted in 2022 of investor fraud and conspiracy, charges stemming from her misleading claims about Theranos’ capabilities. Despite her efforts to delay incarceration, an appeals court upheld her convictions last year, along with a staggering $452 million restitution order against her and her former partner, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani.
The appeals court dismissed Holmes and Balwani’s claims of legal errors during their trials, ruling that any alleged mistakes were either harmless or insufficient to demonstrate constitutional violations. They also contested the restitution amount, arguing it should not be based on total investments; however, the court reaffirmed that the victims’ actual losses matched the total investments made.
This latest request to the Trump administration is significant as it marks another attempt by Holmes to reduce her prison time following a series of legal battles. As developments unfold, the outcome of her plea may set a precedent for how fraud cases involving high-profile defendants are treated in the future.
Stay tuned for more updates as this story develops.
