Elizabeth Holmes has been sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison for defrauding investors of her blood testing startup Theranos.
Judge Edward Davila imposed a sentence of 135 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
A tearful Holmes, who is heavily pregnant with her second child, hugged her husband Billy Evans after the sentence was read out.
Earlier, she apologised for her role in the collapse of the Silicon Valley firm — the first time she has admitted responsibility.
“I am devastated by my failings. I have felt deep pain for what people went through, because I failed them,” Holmes said.
Holmes was convicted in January of three felony counts of wire fraud and one felony count of conspiracy to commit fraud relating to the collapse of Theranos.
Prosecutor Jeff Schenk said the Theranos founder craved media attention and a lavish lifestyle and called on the judge to impose a lengthy sentence as a deterrent to others.
“The attention desired by Ms Holmes fuelled the fraud,” he told the court.
Defense attorney Kevin Downey said Holmes had “good intentions” and there was no evidence that she had been driven by greed.
“Year in and year out, Elizabeth Holmes had the opportunity to become a very wealthy woman,” he said.
“Hundreds of millions of dollars. Year after year, she declined the offers.”
She was “let down by her support network”, Mr Downey said.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence the 38-year-old to 15 years in prison and that she pay $800m in restitution for defrauding investors.
Her lawyers argued that Holmes deserves more lenient treatment as a well-meaning entrepreneur who is now a devoted mother with another child on the way.
Judge Davila described the case as “so troubling on so many levels”.
Cory Booker wrote a letter calling for leniency in the sentencing of Elizabeth Holmes
“The tragedy of this case is Ms Holmes is brilliant, she had creative ideas. She’s big thinker.
“She was moving into an industry that was dominated by, let’s face it, male ego,” Judge Davila told the court, according to Mercury News reporter Ethan Baron.
“Failure is normal. But failure by fraud is not OK.”
He ordered Holmes to surrender to corrections officials in April — after she has given birth to her second child.
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes arrives at federal court on 18 November in San Jose, California.
