Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Found Guilty Of Defrauding Investors

Elizabeth Holmes guilty of fraud: The founder of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of fraud on January 3. Holmes was convicted of defrauding investors at the end of a landmark trial in California that went on for months.  She was said to have knowingly lied about the technology that could detect diseases with a few drops of blood.

Holmes was found guilty of four of the eleven charges which included the conspiracy to commit fraud against investors and three counts of wire fraud.

She was found not guilty on the other four counts. The jury that consisted of eight men and four women could also not reach a verdict on three counts following which the judge overseeing the trial, Edward Davila, said that he planned to declare a mistrial.

Suggested Reading: Who Is Alka Mittal ? The First Woman To Head Oil And Natural Gas Corporation

The prison term for each of the charges is a maximum of 20 years each. Holmes has previously denied the charges and was not taken into custody.

Holmes, who had once promised to revolutionise health care, is one of the most prominent executives of a startup to field fraud accusations.

The sentencing date is expected to be next week on the three hung charges. She is expected to appeal.

All about Elizabeth Holmes : 

Once a Silicon Valley star, Holmes had fashioned herself into the female equivalent of Apple founder Steve Jobs – a woman trailblazer in a male-dominated industry.

The Standford University dropout founded Theranos in 2003 when she was just 19 years old, which provided her with a Forbe's recognition as the youngest self-made woman billionaire.

In 2015, she was caught in legal entanglements as the Wall Street Journal published a report about the alleged problems and irregularities at Theranos.

The allegations were regarding the fraud and misrepresentation so facts to secure millions-worth in funding that resulted in a probe by the US Attorney's Office leading to multiple charges of fraud against Holmes.

“This case is about fraud, about lying and cheating to get money,” federal prosecutor Robert Leach said, as quoted by the Associated Press, during his opening statement in Holmes’ high-profile trial.

“…under the facade of Theranos’ success there were significant problems brewing,” Leach added, alleging Holmes was aware her blood testers were “plagued by issues and repeatedly failing quality control."