Brittany Hosea-Small/Reuters
- Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of 4 of 11 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy on Monday.
- The Theranos founder faces up to 80 years in prison and could face trial again for 3 counts on which jurors failed to reach a verdict.
- Experts weigh in on what sentence Holmes may get, whether she’ll be re-tried, and if she’ll try to appeal her conviction.
On Monday, Elizabeth Holmes, the former CEO of failed blood-testing startup Theranos was convicted of four fraud-related charges in federal court after a trial lasting four months. Jurors found Holmes guilty of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud investors.
She was found not guilty on four other conspiracy and wire fraud charges, and jurors failed to reach a verdict on the remaining three charges against her.
Of course, this isn’t the end of the road for Holmes’ case. Insider asked legal experts their opinion on what’s next for Holmes, including whether she may go to prison or be put on trial again for the three hung verdicts.
Here’s what they said:
Will Holmes go to prison?
Each of the four counts Holmes was convicted of carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Though it’s unlikely she’ll get 20 years, she probably won’t walk either.
“I’d be very surprised if she doesn’t serve time,” says Jennifer Kennedy Park, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton whose work focuses on white-collar defense. “When a very large company with a lot of market cap implodes as a result of fraud, people spend time in prison.”
The fact that her trial commanded so much attention doesn’t help Holmes either.
“High-profile defendants sometimes have a tougher time staying out of prison because judges know the case is being watched,” says Stephen Miller, co-chair of the White-Collar Defense & Investigations practice at Cozen O’Connor. “There’s a bit of general deterrence at work where the judge says, ‘If I let this person walk, then maybe I suggest they didn’t do anything wrong.'”
Could she face another trial?
Jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict on three charges against Holmes, so prosecutors could retry her on those counts. But that probably won’t happen.
“I think the prosecutors would exercise their discretion not to retry, given the amount of resources that have been invested and given they’ve gotten a guilty verdict on four charges and she could be sentenced to 20 years for each of those counts,” says Park.
Will she try to appeal her conviction?
Holmes will likely appeal the verdict soon, but that process could take years.
In the meantime, Park says, “She will likely make a motion for bail pending appeal, basically saying, ‘I should not have to start serving my prison sentence because I have good arguments on appeal.'”
As jurors begin speaking out about the trial, Holmes’ defense team will be looking for evidence of possible juror misconduct that could help appeal her conviction, Park says.
What affects sentencing?
Federal guidelines suggest sentences for crimes based on several factors, but judges don’t have to follow them. Sentencing may be swayed by “the judge’s view on how brazen the lies were, what came out of the trial, and whether there was any good faith in what she was doing,” says Miller.
Park expects the guidelines will produce a “pretty high” range for Holmes.
Factors like Holmes’ position as CEO and the amount of money investors lost could increase her sentence.
On the flip side, her allegations of abuse against former Theranos president and COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani could possibly tip the scales downward.
“Her emotional state at the time she committed the crime is a relevant mitigating factor, including her testimony that she was in an abusive relationship,” said Park. “I think we’ll see that while the abuse story didn’t play out particularly heavily during closing arguments, it will in her sentencing arguments.”
Holmes’ youth and past prominence may also work in her favor.
“I think it’s going to be very important that she’s young and she’s incredibly capable; she presented very well, and she was able to convince very experienced people along the way on the science and competence,” said Miller. “You would imagine one of her arguments will be that there’s a lot of good she can do in the world once she pays her debt to society.”
Holmes’ attorneys will also likely point out “the trauma of separating a young child from their mother” in arguing for more lenient sentencing.
If Holmes gets prison time, the judge will decide at sentencing whether she will serve that time consecutively or concurrently, though Park notes the latter is more likely.
Read the original article on Business Insider 
