What a Year.

Boardroom Governance Newsletter #35 | Dec 2, 2022.

Elizabeth Holmes Sentencing. Sketch by Vicki Ellen Behringer. Nov 18, 2022.

“Failure is normal. But failure by fraud is not OK.” Judge Edward Davila in the sentencing of Elizabeth Holmes.

Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced on Friday, November 18, 2022 to 135 months (11 years, 3 months) in federal prison for defrauding investors in Theranos of hundreds of millions of dollars. Holmes was ordered to surrender on April 27, 2023, to begin serving her prison sentence.

This caps off one of the most high profile fraud cases in Silicon Valley’s history. I previously wrote about it in January (fraud in Silicon Valley on trial) and about how the Theranos case highlights fraud in private companies. It also serves as a great reminder for boards of private venture-backed companies to be qualified, engaged and accountable.

Next up is Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. His sentencing has been set for December 7, 2022. On July 7, a federal jury found him guilty of two counts of conspiracy and ten counts of wire fraud th…