Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced Friday to 11 years and three months in prison for defrauding investors. Holmes ran a Biotech scheme built on a fraudulent blood-testing device that was supposed to be capable of testing for several different diseases with a minimal amount of blood.
The sentencing comes after Holmes was found guilty of four counts of defrauding investors in January. She was facing up to 20 years in prison and state attorneys sought a 15-year sentence.
Before the 11-year and three-month sentence was handed down Holmes addressed the court:
"I loved Theranos. It was my life’s work. "The people I tried to get involved with Theranos were the people I loved and respected the most. I am devastated by my failings.”
Holmes got a who's-who list of billionaire backers to invest almost $1-billion in her biotech company Theranos. Some investors include; Rupert Murdoch, Walmart's Walton family, the family of former Education Secretary Betsy Devos, and Oracle founder Larry Ellison. At the height of Theranos' hype, it was worth $9-billion.
Holmes is currently pregnant and expecting baby number two, both of which were conceived during her legal proceedings.