Senator Booker praised Elizabeth Holmes for her determination to make a difference.
Ricki Noel Lander said that Ms.Holmes was a trustworthy friend.
Mr. Robertson was a professor of chemical engineering at the university.
Their comments were part of a cache of more than 100 letters that were filed over the last week to a federal judge in San Jose, Calif. She was found guilty of four counts of fraud in January. She's going to be sentenced on Friday.
The maximum sentence for wire fraud is 20 years. Her lawyers want 18 months of house arrest, while prosecutors want 15 years in prison. A sentence of nine years has been recommended for Ms.Holmes.
The decision was made by the judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He will consider the letters from her supporters, as well as the lengthy memos filed by her lawyers and prosecutors, in deciding whether or not she accepts responsibility for her actions.
The judge has to consider the message that Ms.Holmes sends to the world. Silicon Valley companies that play fast and loose with the law come to symbolize the excesses and arrogance of the area. The company raised $945 million from investors in order to claim that it could run many tests on a single drop of blood. The technology didn't work as expected.
Tech executives are usually not guilty of fraud. Legal experts said that a lighter sentence for Ms.Holmes would be a bad signal to the industry.
Andrew George said that the case has more deterrence potential than most. The judge will be sensitive to the idea that this person got a slap on the wrist.
Other high profile start-up founders have come under scrutiny since Ms.Holmes was convicted. The founder of the electric vehicle start-up was found guilty of lying about his company's technology. Sam Bankman- Fried, the founder of the FTX exchange, is under investigation after his company suddenly collapsed.
The lawyers did not reply to the request.
She would be sent a message if she were to go to prison, prosecutors said in court. They wrote that a long sentence would deter future start-up fraud schemes and rebuild investors' trust.
The venture capital industry is portrayed as a group of rich people who don't thoroughly research their investments by Ms.Holmes's lawyers. Her allies said in their letters of support that what had happened at Theranos was not different from what other start-ups had done.
Alex Moore is an investor at the investment firm 8VC. There will be no innovation if there is no punishment for our innovators.
Yinne Yu, a venture capital investor, said in a letter that Ms.Holmes showed more remorse than any other failed founder she had ever seen.
Ms.Holmes was being condemned by society for taking that enormous risk, sacrificing everything and failing. He admitted that he didn't know all the facts.
The letters came from family members, childhood and college friends, former employees, roommates, consultants and board members, and tried to re-frame Ms.Holmes as a warm and selfish person. The first detailed picture of her life has been painted. She did not speak publicly after the collapse of Theranos.
She became pregnant with her second child after being convicted. She swam across the San Francisco Bay and worked as a rape crisis counselor. She lost her dog to mountain lions.
The prosecutors argued that the letters of support for Ms. Holmes showed that she wasn't blaming her crimes on a difficult upbringing. They said thatHolmes had strong family support, exceptional educational opportunities and financial stability.
Billy Evans wrote that a lot of what has been written about her was not true.
Mr. Evans wrote that Liz doesn't have the ability to sell anything. She is more of a religious person than an entertainer. He said that Ms.Holmes had ruined any privacy and described a life under constant scrutiny.
William, the father of Mr. Evans, said in his letter that the search results for Ms. Holmes were negative, even though they were positive for other famous people. Many of Osama bin Laden's results are positive.
Mr. Booker said that he met Ms.Holmes at an event hosted by Senator John McCain of Arizona where they shared a bag of almonds for dinner. Both of them were vegetarian.
Mr. Booker believes that Ms.Holmes has the ability to redeem herself and that she has a sincere desire to help others.
Evidence was presented at Ms.Holmes's trial. Tyler Shultz contemplated suicide after she manipulated regulators, lied to the media, and intimidated whistle-blowers. They wrote that she enjoyed the fruits of her fraud, including flying on a private jet, living in a mansion, and appearing on magazine covers.
They said she chose lies, hype and the prospect of billions of dollars over patient safety and fair dealings with investors.
In addition to 15 years in prison, prosecutors asked the court to order Ms.Holmes to pay more than a billion dollars in damages for harm done to Safeway and Walgreens, as well as George P. Shultz, the former secretary of state. Tyler Shultz was the grandson of Mr. Shultz and sat on the board of the company.
According to the court filing, Ms.Holmes did not make a lot of money on Theranos. She has legal fees of more than $30 million and has a $450,000 loan to pay them. Prosecutors wanted to know if the money was being managed to avoid paying back investors or if she was remorseful.
Prosecutors wrote that she accepted no responsibility. She claims she is the victim. The person is not.
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