SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes on Friday produced what may be her final court look just before starting a 11-year prison sentence, unless a judge grants her request to stay cost-free even though her lawyers appeal her conviction for masterminding a blood-testing hoax.

The 90-minute hearing came 4 months right after Holmes’ final court hearing. That was when U.S. District Judge Edward Davila sentenced her for duping investors in Theranos, a startup she founded 20 years ago and rode to fleeting fame and fortune on her promises of a revolutionary blood-testing technologies.

Prior to the hearing began, a man in the audience in the San Jose, California, courtroom attempted to strategy the table exactly where Holmes was sitting even though carrying a document in his hand. He was promptly intercepted by safety officers who forcibly removed him. Holmes didn’t seem flustered by the disruption.

The proceedings ended with no a determination no matter whether Holmes, 39, will be in a position to remain out of prison even though her appeal unfolds or have surrender to authorities on April 27, as at the moment scheduled. Davila mentioned he hopes to challenge his ruling in early April.

The judge earlier this month rejected a related bid to stay clear of prison produced by Holmes’ former lover and convicted Theranos accomplice, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who is facing a almost 13-year sentence right after a jury discovered him guilty of 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy. Balwani, 57, was supposed to report to a federal prison in Southern California Thursday, but his lawyer made use of a final-minute legal maneuver to get additional time.

Holmes came to her St. Patrick’s Day hearing wearing a black blazer and blue skirt. She not too long ago gave birth to her second youngster, according to court documents that didn’t disclose the gender or birth date.

1 of her lawyers, Amy Saharia, argued that Holmes should really be permitted to stay cost-free for the reason that of different missteps in the presentation and omission of proof in the course of her 4-month trial that make it most likely an appeals court will overturn her conviction on 4 counts of fraud and conspiracy.

“We believe the record is teeming with troubles,” Saharia asserted. She especially cited Davila’s refusal to enable the jury to see a sworn deposition that Balwani gave in the course of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Theranos’ downfall that Holmes’ defense group believes would have helped exonerate her.

Federal prosecutor Kelly Volkar countered there is “no likelihood for reversal” of Holmes’ conviction and asserted that the trial documented seven distinctive categories of deception that she engaged in even though operating Theranos. Most of the deceit centered on a device dubbed “Edison” that Holmes had boasted would be in a position to scan for hundreds of ailments and other wellness troubles with just a handful of drops of blood taken with a finger prick.

But the Edison made such wildly unreliable outcomes that Theranos started relying on third-celebration testing gear currently extensively made use of on the industry — a switch that Holmes concealed in an work to maintain the enterprise afloat.

“That was shocking to investors,” Volkar reminded Davila.

The two opposing sides also sparred more than how substantially restitution Holmes should really spend defrauded investors whose trust briefly boosted her wealth to $four.five billion primarily based on Theranos’ peak worth just before its collapse.

Federal prosecutor Robert Leach argued her conviction for engineering a conspiracy justified restitution of almost $900 million to repay Theranos investors swept up in her lies. “Just to apply popular sense, the cash these investors lost is the cash they place in,” Leach mentioned.

But Hollmes’ lawyer Patrick Looby countered that prosecutors have been way off base by pursuing an “all or nothing” restitution quantity. He noted that the jury in her trial couldn’t attain a verdict on 3 counts of investor fraud, prompting the prosecutor to dismiss these charges. At most, Looby contended, Holmes’ restitution penalty should really be restricted to the handful of investors who testified in the course of her trial.

Copyright 2023 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This material might not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.