Elizabeth Holmes enters prison: how is the prison for women in which the Silicon Valley businesswoman convicted of a millionaire fraud is being held.

Who once came to be considered “the new Steve Jobs” of Silicon Valley has been in prison since Tuesday.

Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, was sentenced to 11 years in prison last November for wire fraud and conspiring to defraud investors with her company, a blood testing company that failed to deliver what it promised.

In addition, the businesswoman and her former partner Sunny Balwani, also in prison, were sentenced to pay US$452 million to dozens of affected investors.

After several failed attempts to delay her entry into prison, Holmes, 39, appeared on Tuesday at the federal prison for women FPC Bryan, in Texas, USA.

Holmes had fought to remain free on bail pending the resolution of his legal appeal in court. A delay, he said, would allow him to raise “substantial questions” about the case that could warrant a new trial.

Her defense team also argued that Holmes should remain free to care for her children, one almost 2 years old and the other just 3 months old.

But these arguments were in vain and Holmes left his residence in California to move to Texas.

FPC Bryan Prison

From now on she will wear khaki pants and a shirt, the prison uniform, and will have to be ready at 06:00 am every day, according to a prison manual.

FPC Bryan prison occupies about 15 hectares of land and houses between 500 and 700 inmates, most serving sentences for non-violent crimes or financial crimes.

Holmes, who was raised in part in Houston, Texas, isn’t the first celebrity to spend time at FPC Bryan.

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah is serving a six-and-a-half-year sentence for wire fraud.

life there

They are generally housed in dormitory-style two-person bunk beds, or in cubicles that hold between four and eight people, according to Pink Lady Prison, a prison consulting group run by former female prisoners.

Life in that federal prison is centered around work and extracurricular programs, according to the inmate manual.

Inmates are paid between 12 cents and $1.15 per hour of work. Many are involved in food service and manufacturing work.

Outside of those duties, they can take business skills and language classes, watch TV, play sports and attend religious services.

Like other inmates, Holmes is expected to get one hour for lunch from the regular Federal Bureau of Prisons menu, which consists of items such as chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos or macaroni.

Disciplinary measures

According to the prison manual, Holmes will be able to speak with his family via video calls.

The inmates are also allowed visitors on weekends and holidays, but, like others, Holmes will have to respect limited physical contact with her husband, William Evans, and her two young children.

She and other mothers are allowed to hold her children on their laps and breastfeed their babies, according to official Bureau of Prisons guidelines.

Rules at the prison are strict, according to the manual, which adds that inmates are “treated firmly and responsibly” and “are expected to act accordingly.”

In case of violations, they may face disciplinary action for things like not keeping their cell or room tidy, sleeping past the designated time, sharing their phone account with other inmates, or moving around during roll call, which happens five times a day.

a different life

The time Holmes spends behind bars will be in stark contrast to the life he has led thus far.

Once hailed as the “new Steve Jobs” she was on her way to becoming the world’s youngest self-employed billionaire. He was featured on the cover of Forbes and other prominent magazines.

She started the firm Theranos shortly after leaving Stanford University in California.

As head of the company, she raised millions of dollars from investors, including media mogul Rupert Murdoch and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

But her start-up collapsed in 2018 after it was revealed that Holmes and other executives had lied about the company’s technology.

The blood testing device they were designing was supposed to be able to perform a multitude of tests with just a few drops of sample.

In addition to serving prison time, Holmes was ordered to pay $452 million to victims of her fraud.

The amount must be settled along with her former partner and her ex-partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who began serving a 13-year prison sentence last April.

As head of the company, she raised millions of dollars from investors, including media mogul Rupert Murdoch and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

But her start-up collapsed in 2018 after it was revealed that Holmes and other executives had lied about the company’s technology.

The blood testing device they were designing was supposed to be able to perform a multitude of tests with just a few drops of sample.

In addition to serving prison time, Holmes was ordered to pay $452 million to victims of her fraud.

The amount must be settled along with her former partner and her ex-partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who began serving a 13-year prison sentence last April.

It’s unusual to see tech company executives go to prison on fraud charges.