Elizabeth Holmes tried to flee U.S. after conviction, prosecutors allege

[FakeNoose]

(link) https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2023/01/21/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-fraud-prosecutors-prison-conviction-flight-risk/stories/202301210066

Elizabeth Holmes, the former Theranos CEO, booked a one-way plane ticket to Mexico that was scheduled to depart just weeks after she was convicted of fraud in January 2022, a recent court filing says. In the document, filed Thursday, prosecutors describe the booking as an “attempt to flee the country.”

Government attorneys learned of the flight — departing Jan. 26, 2022 — on Jan. 23 that year, and alerted Holmes’ legal team by email. They replied that she had booked the flight before the verdict in the hope she would be able to attend a wedding in Mexico. Holmes canceled the ticket, “but it is difficult to know with certainty what Defendant would have done had the government not intervened,” the prosecutors wrote.

The filing was in response to a motion made by Holmes, 38, to loosen restrictions placed on her region of travel. To do so, Holmes has to prove that she is not a flight risk, a requirement prosecutors say she failed to meet.

In November last year, Holmes was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison after her Jan. 3, 2022, conviction on four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was given a self-surrender date of April 27 this year after the court found out she was pregnant with her second child.

- more at link -

This story was originally published in the Washington Post, but I don't have a subscription to WP.

It's good to know that the feds were watching her and considered her a potential flight risk.

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/01/21/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-flight-risk-mexico/
https://archive.ph/yLHJS

Elizabeth Holmes tried to flee U.S. after conviction, prosecutors allege
By Kelsey Ables
January 21, 2023 at 12:40 a.m. EST

[Sneederbunk]

2. Just another reason to take defendant immediately into custody upon conviction.

[Victor_c3]

3. I forget the name of it, but there was a dramatization of her story on Hulu

It was alright to watch.

Why buy a one-way ticket if you’re trying to convince people you’re not a flight risk? At least she could put a little bit of effort into not acting like a criminal

[Sky Jewels]

12. It's called "The Dropout."

I thought they did a good job with it. And the George Schultz angle was very interesting.

[republianmushroom]

4. A CEO going to jail for a change instead of a monetary fine. Need more of this.

[sdfernando]

5. Aka Martha Stewarr

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad she is in prison, but seems the male CEO’s never see the inside because f a prison.

[republianmushroom]

7. Hope more go don't care what gender.

This will stop some of the BS their companies get away with.
Forgot about Stewarr, thank you

[Meadowoak]

6. Doesn't everyone book a one way flight to Mexico to attend a wedding?

[getagrip_already]

8. Mexico has an extradition treaty.....

They return people often.

But Costa Rica.......

You'd think she would have slipped onto a private jet and left for a safer venue. But I guess she isn't all that smart.

[localroger]

9. I am pretty sure CR has an extradition treaty with us too

There actually aren't a lot of countries that don't, and most of them aren't places where you'd rather live.

[getagrip_already]

14. It's a Grey area....

They do have a treaty, but extradition isn't automatic. Some countries also have a limited treaty, where citizens don't get extradited easily.

In any case, there are a lot of porous countries where it can be difficult to even locate someone, let alone get them legally extradited.

Money helps.

[Silent3]

10. Since many wealthy people have private yachts and planes...

...what's to prevent a lot of them from just sailing or flying away?

It does sometimes happen, from new stories I vaguely recall, but I get the impression it doesn't happen as much as I think it would.

[Sky Jewels]

11. How selfish of her and her husband to bring another child

into their mess. S/he will not have a mother during childhood. And neither will the older brother.

[fescuerescue]

13. I don't think she directed committed a crime there

She booked the ticket while she was innocent (innocent until proven guilty), and cancelled it as soon as she was convicted.

I think it shows intent to take a trip after a long trial where she was certainly she would be found non-gulty.

I could certainly see her being bold enough to actually believe she could not guilty. Federal crimes have a like a 98% conviction rate. It was foolish for her to believe it was possible for her to would win.

Good enough for a jury anyway.

[EleanorR]

15. She did not cancel it until contacted by the DOJ

However, her passport had been taken, so seems she couldn't have taken the trip anyways.

In emails from Jan. 23, 2022, that were included in the recent filing, Jeffrey Schenk, an attorney for the Department of Justice, wrote to Holmes’ lawyer stating that the government had become aware of her travel plans and that she had not obtained approval from the court. “In light of her current bail conditions, we find this concerning,” he wrote, and requested confirmation of the trip’s cancellation by the next morning.

Holmes’ lawyer replied that, “Given the verdict, she does not plan to take the trip,” noting that her passport had been confiscated. She had not canceled the flight “amidst everything that has been going on,” he said, adding that they would “have her do so promptly.”

[fescuerescue]

16. To be clear I think she did intend to flee.

But intending to flee while still innocent (until proven guilty) isn't a crime. Certainly isn't a good look.

But the presumption of innocence actually is a real thing.

So I think that is why the prosecution is talking about "we find this concerning", as opposed to presenting a charging document.