Oct 16, 2026, 12:37 PM

A few weeks ago, Elizabeth Holmes' sentence was reduced from 135 months to 123 months. The ~9% reduction is due to a retroactive change in federal sentencing guidelines and earned time through the First Step Act

The judge seems understandably angry about this. But this is bonkers:

"The hundreds of millions of dollars in losses caused by Holmes's fraud speak for themselves. And though unquantifiable, the echoes of the immense reputational damage that the innovative industry in Silicon Valley suffered as a consequence of Holmes's deception still reverberate to this day."

Wait, what? *Holmes* is the reason everyone hates the Nerd Reich? If only!

Yes, Holmes is a monster who defrauded patients and investors, and the stories of what she did to the whistleblowers are harrowing. And, yeah, she probably is responsible for collateral harm to *women* trying to raise money

But on my list of people who have caused 'immense reputational damage' to Silicon Valley, she doesn't crack the Top 40

"To be clear, this sentence reduction does not diminish the enormity of Holmes's crimes, nor does it ignore the significant negative impact her conduct has had on the community," U.S. District Judge Edward Davila wrote in a March order granting a motion to reduce her sentence. "The hundreds of millions of dollars in losses caused by Holmes's fraud speak for themselves. And though unquantifiable, the echoes of the immense reputational damage that the innovative industry in Silicon Valley suffered as a consequence of Holmes's deception still reverberate to this day. Holmes's revised sentence continues to reflect a just punishment for her serious offense and serves as a reminder that the scales of justice will balance."