Technologies

Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison

Holmes was convicted on multiple counts of fraud in the high-profile case.

A federal judge on Friday sentenced former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted on multiple counts of fraud in January, to 135 months in prison.

The disgraced founder of the promising blood-testing startup was once compared with luminaries like Steve Jobs. Now she faces 11 years and three months behind bars.

Judge Edward Davila made the ruling in a San Jose, California, federal district court more than 10 months after Holmes was convicted of defrauding Theranos investors on four counts. The court did not impose any fines as part of the sentence.

«I stand here before you taking responsibility for Theranos. I loved Theranos. It was my life’s work,» a tearful Holmes said upon taking the stand prior to sentencing on Friday. «I am devastated by my failing. Every day for the past many years I have felt deep pain for what I did, because I failed them.»

She had faced a potential maximum sentence of 80 years in prison.

Holmes and her attorneys had asked for leniency from the judge on account of her being a new mother. The 38-year-old requested less than 18 months in prison, as well a sentence of home confinement and community service.

Holmes gave birth to a child during her trial in 2021 and is pregnant again. It’s unclear whether this will impact how, where or when she’ll serve her sentence.

Over 140 letters from Holmes’ family, friends, former employees and supporters, including US Sen. Cory Booker and a retired Navy admiral, were submitted to Davila to make the case that he go easy on Holmes, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The portrayal of Holmes as a selfless community servant runs counter to the image sketched by federal prosecutors during the trial of a deceitful executive who would go to great lengths — even endangering customers — to hide the shortcomings of Theranos and its technology, which was positioned as a revolutionary advance in medicine.

Prior to announcing the penalty, Davila explained his sentencing rationale. He said the harm done to Theranos patients would not be a factor because Holmes was acquitted of all patient-related charges. He added that the fact Holmes did not accept responsibility for her crime would count against her.

Holmes requested a new trial in a Sept. 6 court filing, following a visit to her home by a former Theranos employee during which he reportedly told her partner he regretted testifying against Holmes. Davila ultimately rejected the request as insufficient grounds for a new trial, but did delay sentencing by almost two months.

Former Theranos executive Sunny Balwani was also convicted of fraud in a separate trial and could still be sentenced by the end of the year.

Correction, 2:25 p.m. PT: An earlier version of this story miscalculated the conversion from 135 months to years and months. Holmes’ sentence will run 11 years, three months.

Technologies

How Verum Ecosystem Is Rethinking Communication

David Rotman — Founder of the Verum Ecosystem

For David Rotman, communication is not a feature — it is a dependency that should never rely on a single point of failure.

As the founder of the Verum Ecosystem, Rotman developed a communication platform designed to function when internet access becomes unreliable or unavailable.

Verum Messenger addresses real-world challenges such as network outages, censorship, and infrastructure failures. Its 2025 update introduced a unified offline-capable messaging system, moving beyond Bluetooth-based or temporary peer-to-peer solutions.

Verum’s mission is simple: to ensure communication continuity under any conditions.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Feb. 1

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 1

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Some of the clues are kind of tricky, but I was able to fill in enough of the others to get them all answered. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Spot to shop
Answer: MART

5A clue: Pounded sticky rice sometimes filled with ice cream
Answer: MOCHI

6A clue: ___ Chekhov, «Three Sisters» playwright
Answer: ANTON

7A clue: Like many dive bars and bird feeds
Answer: SEEDY

8A clue: Jekyll’s evil counterpart
Answer: HYDE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: What makes the world go ’round, per «Cabaret»
Answer: MONEY

2D clue: Performed in a play
Answer: ACTED

3D clue: __ Island (U.S. state)
Answer: RHODE

4D clue: Itty-bitty
Answer: TINY

5D clue: Squish to a pulp, as potatoes
Answer: MASH

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 1, #496

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 1, No. 496.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one. The blue group made me think of dusty gum sticks, and the purple one requires you to look for hidden names in the clues. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Splish-splash.

Green group hint: Vroom!

Blue group hint: Cards and gum.

Purple group hint: Racket stars.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Aquatic sports verbs.

Green group: Speed.

Blue group: Sports card brands.

Purple group: Tennis Grand Slam winners, minus a letter.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is aquatic sports verbs. The four answers are kayak, row, sail and swim.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is speed. The four answers are mustard, pop, velocity and zip.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports card brands. The four answers are Leaf, Panini, Topps and Upper Deck.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is tennis Grand Slam winners, minus a letter. The four answers are ash (Arthur Ashe), kin (Billie Jean King), nada (Rafael Nadal) and William (Serena and Venus Williams)

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.