The ongoing aftermath of Elizabeth Holmes' Theranos scandal.

Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani were ordered by a federal court to pay $452 million in restitution to victims of their fraudulent blood-testing company, Theranos. However, experts say that the funds may never be fully paid out, as most restitution is never paid. Federal officials help collect restitutions, including through assets seized in investigations, and by taking a portion of the earnings of defendants ordered to pay them. Prosecutors investigating financial crimes try to get a jump on the restitution process before they even bring any charges. It might still come down to a question of what resources the defendant is left with, and the chance of recovery largely depends on whether a defendant has sufficient assets to repay their victims.