Theranos Trial: Founder Elizabeth Holmes, The Fallen Silicon Valley Star, Found Guilty Of Fraud

After seven days of deliberations, US jury convicts 37-year-old former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes of investor fraud and conspiracy, but acquitted her of the charges of defrauding patients

Elizabeth Holmes (centre) outside the federal court after she was found guilty on 4 of 11 accounts faced in the Theranos fraud trial in San Jose, California, on January 3, 2022 | Photo: AFP

New Delhi: A US jury Monday found Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of blood testing startup Theranos, guilty of defrauding her investors. She was convicted on four of 11 counts.

After seven days of deliberations, the jury convicted the 37-year-old former Theranos CEO of investor fraud and conspiracy, but acquitted her on the three counts of defrauding patients who had paid for the blood tests, news agency Reuters reported. The fourth count was a related conspiracy charge. 

The jury said it was “hopelessly deadlocked” on three of the 11 felony counts.

According to the prosecutors, Holmes defrauded Theranos investors between 2010 and 2015. The investors testified in court that the company made several misleading claims, including that Theranos machines were being used by the US military, the Reuters report said.

She was also accused of misleading patients about the accuracy of the tests but was acquitted of the charges.

US District Judge Edward Davila had earlier sentenced her to 80 years in prison but Holmes is likely to get a much lower sentence now.

The date for sentencing has not been set yet.

Holmes And Theranos 

Holmes founded Theranos in 2003, at the age of 19. She wanted to revolutionise lab testing, and her business plan attracted high-profile investors and board members. In 2015, Forbes had said her net worth was estimated at $4.5 billion.

Things started to fall apart for the Silicon Valley star after the Wall Street Journal published a series of articles that suggested Theranos devices were flawed and inaccurate. 

In 2018, she was indicted along with former chief operating officer Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani, who has also pleaded not guilty. He will be tried at a later date.