I don't understand American law. Why isn't Elizabeth Holmes behind bars yet? She's been accused of massive fraud by SEC and yet, she's still serving her role in Theranos?
Criminal charges are brought about by the Dept of Justice. The burden of proof for criminal cases is much higher so it takes more time to do the investigation and prepare the case. You also only get one shot at criminal charges - if you bring about a case that's too flimsy and the defendant is found not guilty in court they can't be tried again for the same crime no matter how much rock solid evidence is found later. As far as I am aware, the criminal investigation is still ongoing.
The SEC can report their findings to the DoJ to assist with criminal cases.
Her father did work there after all...
tl;dr Especially at the Federal level, cases can take a very long time, but they do happen.
Not only that, but the more vocal of the two founders is now running for a senate seat.
If anything you seem to be supporting the unfortunate conclusion that there _is_ no real recompense. I tend to agree with the OP, even as an american, the structure of the law seems unequivocally built to support those with the power to navigate it. Bernie Madoff was the exception, not the rule, and by his own words, even this may not be the level of punishment one might wish (re: imprisonment) "They call me either Uncle Bernie or Mr. Madoff. I can't walk anywhere without someone shouting their greetings and encouragement, to keep my spirit up. It's really quite sweet, how concerned everyone is about my well being, including the staff […] It's much safer here than walking the streets of New York."[0]
[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff#cite_note-134