Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has requested the Trump administration to commute her prison sentence. This information was confirmed by the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney. At 41 years old, Holmes has almost six years remaining on her sentence after being convicted of defrauding investors by making false claims about her company’s blood-testing technology.
The request was filed in 2025 and is currently under review, as noted on the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s website. The status of the request is “pending,” indicating it is still being evaluated. The website specifies that details regarding individual case reviews cannot be disclosed.
Holmes is scheduled to be released on December 30, 2031, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Her conviction stems from a 2022 trial where she was found guilty of investor fraud and conspiracy. Following her conviction, Holmes attempted to delay her incarceration, but her efforts were unsuccessful.
The legal challenges continued into 2023, when an appeals court upheld her fraud convictions and the accompanying restitution order of $452 million. Alongside Holmes, her former business partner, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, also faced similar convictions for fraud and conspiracy.
Both Holmes and Balwani argued that their trials were marred by legal errors that violated their constitutional rights. However, a panel of three judges from the appeals court dismissed these claims, stating that any alleged errors were harmless or did not demonstrate any violation of rights.
As part of their appeal, the defendants contended that the restitution amount should not be based on the total investments made by the victims. Nevertheless, the appeals court upheld the lower court’s decision, concluding that the victims’ actual losses matched the total of their investments.
Holmes’ plea for commutation adds another chapter to her controversial legal saga, which has drawn significant public interest and media coverage. The outcome of her request remains uncertain, with potential implications for her future and the ongoing discourse surrounding accountability in the tech industry.
