Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes said life behind bars has been “hell and torture” as the former Silicon Valley darling broke her silence for the first time since being convicted of fraud.
The mother of two young kids, who was sentenced to 11-plus years and is locked up at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas, told People magazine she wakes up just after 5 a.m., earns 31 cents an hour teaching fellow inmates how to apply for jobs and undergoes treatment for post-traumatic stress.
“It’s surreal. People who have never met me believe so strongly about me,” she told the magazine.
“They don’t understand who I am. It forces you to spend a lot of time questioning belief and hoping the truth will prevail. I am walking by faith and, ultimately, the truth. But it’s been hell and torture to be here.”
In her first prison interview, she reflected on her life, her conviction and her future aspirations.
The hardest part, Holmes told People, was watching her children leave through the secured glass door after each visit — a scenario that she said “shatters my world every single time.”
“The people I love the most have to walk away as I stand here, a prisoner, and my reality sinks in,” the 41-year-old former tech executive, once celebrated as the next Steve Jobs, told the magazine.
Holmes said she finds solace in the weekend visits with her partner, Billy Evans, and their children, William, 3, and Invicta, 2, as they pass the metal detectors at the all-women’s minimum-security prison.
When they part, her children press their fingers together in a heart shape and say, “Mommy, this is our love,” according to People.
“Our love is a superpower,” the mom tells her kids.
Holmes said she has adjusted to prison life. She has stuck to a routine that includes lifting weights, rowing and running before starting work as a reentry clerk.
She earns 31 cents an hour helping inmates prepare résumés and apply for government benefits while also working as a law clerk assisting women seeking compassionate release.
“So many of these women don’t have anyone, and once they’re in there, they’re forgotten,” she told People.
Holmes also teaches French and takes part in cognitive and behavioral therapy for PTSD, reflecting on past traumas and the downfall of Theranos.
“I wish that I left, or I had seen the abuse or understood it — and why I didn’t — and I’m finding peace with that,” she told People.
“It can break a lot of people, and I was able to rise through it as best I can.”
Holmes continues to maintain her innocence, asserting that while Theranos turned out to be a dud, “failure is not fraud.”
She still considers her trial and conviction a miscarriage of justice.
“First it was about accepting it happened. Then it was about forgiving myself for my own part. [And] I refused to plead guilty to crimes I did not commit,” Holmes said.
The Post has sought comment from the Justice Department.
The Stanford grad said that despite her reputation being in tatters, she intends on returning to the health care industry after her release from prison, which is scheduled for April 3, 2032.
At the peak of her popularity in 2015, Holmes had an estimated net worth of $4.5 billion, according to Forbes.
This valuation was based on her 50% ownership stake in Theranos, the biotech company she founded, which was once valued at $9 billion.
However, after Theranos collapsed due to revelations that its blood-testing technology was fraudulent, Forbes revised her net worth to $0 in 2016.
In 2022, Holmes was charged with and convicted of fraud and conspiracy, specifically wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
A year later, she was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison for her role in misleading investors about Theranos’ technology and financial health.
Her sentence was reduced to 9 years due to good behavior, which is a standard reduction applied under federal sentencing guidelines. She has also been ordered to pay $452 million in restitution to the victims of her crimes.
Holmes claims to have changed significantly since her time as Theranos’ CEO and is now focusing on criminal justice reform.
She has drafted a proposed bill, the American Freedom Act, aimed at strengthening the presumption of innocence.
Holmes said she counsels inmates who are rape survivors, finding meaning in helping others.
“Human beings are not made to be in cells. It goes so far beyond understanding,” she said.
During the interview, Homes said: “I’m trying really hard not to tear up right now.”
“I’m trying to grow, as every moment matters. And if one person’s life can be touched trying to help them in a crisis, it matters.”
Despite her conviction, Holmes is still working on patents for new health care technology and intends to return to the industry upon release.
“There is not a day I have not continued to work on my research and inventions,” she told People.
“I remain completely committed to my dream of making affordable health care solutions available to everyone.”
Holmes said she dreams of traveling with her family and continuing advocacy work for incarcerated mothers and prison reform.
She acknowledged the pain she has caused her loved ones.
“It kills me to put my family through pain the way I do,” she told People.
“But when I look back on my life, and these angels that have come into it, I can get through anything. It makes me want to fight for all of it.”
