# The trial of Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos)\[sentenced to 11+ yrs, 18Nov2022\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 10, 2021, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138 "2021-07-10T04:42:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/521 "2023-01-22T01:13:37Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Smart enough to get into Stanford… I’ve never found that to be a particularly impressive credential, both from their preference for ‘legacies’ (especially if their parents are making substantial donations) and the Stanford grads I’ve known. They don’t call Stanford “the Harvard of the West” for nothing. I’ll take a Cal grad—even a Cal Poly grad—over a Standford alumnus 6.8 days of the week. > [@outlierrn](#): > > They had her passport, she’d already been convicted, what was her plan, bluff her way through customs and live happily ever after? I think the balance of the evidence indicates that Elizabeth Holmes is a good talker but not much of a deep thinker. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/522 "2023-01-22T13:00:00Z")
She was probably thinking of using those same wiles employed to dupe male investors out of millions. Also, didn’t we have a thread around here not too long ago discussing how to travel internationally without a passport, if it were lost or stolen? She probably read that and got ideas. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyEcks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnnyecks/32/18197_2.png) [@JohnnyEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyEcks)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/523 "2023-01-23T14:26:49Z")
I don’t know which possibility is stupider- That she thought that it would be possible to flee justice, or that she thought that an open ended trip to Mexico would be just fine with the Feds, or that she actually thought that she was going to be acquitted. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/524 "2023-01-23T15:49:27Z")
According to her attorneys, the flight was booked before the verdict came in, and she hoped the verdict would be different and she’d be able to go (evidently it was a friend’s wedding). I don’t like giving her the benefit of the doubt, but this actually makes some sense. The thought that she’d be able to skip the country without a passport seems too idiotic even for her. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/525 "2023-01-23T16:16:29Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I, too, am in the camp that this did not start out as a scam, even during the development phase. I concur. I think originally she felt her idea would come to fruition and at the start it was “fake it until you make it”. But somewhere along the line she realized that Theranos just couldn’t develop the promised technology and she chose to commit fraud. Maybe she didn’t do it for the money but just so she wouldn’t be seen as a failure, but it is fraud nevertheless. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/526 "2023-01-23T16:22:00Z")
I think that she believed he own hype and thought that they’d eventually figure it out and get caught up and pull of a miracle in the nick of time. They faked results so still fraud though. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/527 "2023-01-23T17:10:34Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I think the balance of the evidence indicates that Elizabeth Holmes is a good talker but not much of a deep thinker. Confusingly, she is a deep talker. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/528 "2023-01-23T18:28:18Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And what, no ticket for her pity-me baby? Do “lap babies” need a ticket? The questions I get when checking in suggest no, but maybe someone has experience here. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/529 "2023-01-23T18:34:41Z")
No, but it is safer if they have their own seat with a car seat. You generally only hold a baby in your lap the entire time if the cost of an extra seat is prohibitive. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/530 "2023-01-23T18:43:02Z")
We always bought a seat for our kid, for safety and comfort reasons. At the time we were solidly upper middle class (70-80th percentile income) but no higher. For international flights you had to pay 10% (maybe different now) for a lap child. This was 15+ years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/531 "2023-01-23T19:02:37Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > According to her attorneys, the flight was booked before the verdict came in The prosecution says she bought the ticket _after_ the guilty verdict came in. While the U.S. has an extradition treaty with Mexico, someone with enough wealth and connections could be hard to locate, especially if they use Mexico as a stopover on the way to somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/532 "2023-01-23T19:44:36Z")
It just doesn’t add up though. Money doesn’t get you through immigration without a passport. You can’t even board a commercial flight in the US without your passport. I’m sure with her and her husband’s wealth they could get a private flight to somewhere in Mexico without a passport. But she had a commercial ticket. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/533 "2023-01-23T19:50:27Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The prosecution says she bought the ticket _after_ the guilty verdict came in. I’m not seeing where the prosecution said she bought the ticket after, just that they found out about it after the conviction (and that the ttcket hadn’t been cancelled yet). ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/534 "2023-01-23T19:50:58Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > It just doesn’t add up though. Money doesn’t get you through immigration without a passport. You can’t even board a commercial flight in the US without your passport. Maybe she had a passport card they forgot to confiscate. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/535 "2023-01-23T20:17:22Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > You can’t even board a commercial flight in the US without your passport. Did you mean a commercial flight overseas originating in the US? Because having to show your passport for a commercial flight with origin and destination in the US would be a new one to me. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/536 "2023-01-23T21:03:25Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Did you mean a commercial flight overseas originating in the US? Correct, I’m talking about international flights. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/537 "2023-01-23T21:58:00Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I’m sure with her and her husband’s wealth they could get a private flight to somewhere in Mexico without a passport. But she had a commercial ticket. Unless you own the private aircraft and the pilots and airfield staff are in your thrall, they aren’t going to facilitate a criminal fugitive flight. People do get on private flights without showing ID, but they are vouched for by people the aircraft operators know and trust. I knew a very sketchy private aircraft operator/broker. He’s taken payment in bags of cash. But even he would walk away from this. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/538 "2023-01-23T22:16:15Z")
I think fake passports are fairly easy to get. Also, that Kaitlan Armstrong managed to get to Costa Rica after she murdered the professional cyclist. Apparently she used someone else’s passport. Here’s a story about her. > **[After 43 days on the run, the woman accused of killing an elite cyclist was...](https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/30/us/kaitlin-armstrong-captured-costa-rica-anna-moriah-wilson/index.html)** > > Armstrong was wanted for the May 11 shooting of Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson, who had previously dated Armstrong's boyfriend. Investigators say the killing may have been a violent act of romantic jealousy. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/539 "2023-01-24T14:17:17Z")
Well her story definitely makes sense. I know I always book a ONE WAY ticket to a friend’s wedding. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138/540 "2023-01-24T14:25:35Z")
Yeah, especially when facing legal troubles with a high degree of notoriety. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-sentenced-to-11-yrs-18nov2022/946138.md?page=28)