Former Theranos CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, has been found guilty of 4 of the 11 charges related to defrauding investors and patients. She faces up to 20 years in prison, although as a first time offender she will likely see significantly less than that. The trial lasted an incredible four months and saw testimony from a staggering number of people.
Prosecutors alleged that Holmes manipulated numerous people into investing hundreds of millions of dollars into her company based on false claims that she had created a machine and technology that could greatly alter how diseases and illnesses were diagnosed through a mere finger stick of blood.
Sadly, it was a lie.
Holmes was found guilty of defrauding the investors, but she was not found guilty of committing fraud against the PATIENTS who received faulty results after using her blood and lab tests.
Here is a breakdown of the charges and the verdict on each one:
In an unusual move, Holmes took the stand in her own defense. Although the trial was not aired, it has been reported by those in the courtroom that she did show remorse, although she tried to deflect blame for the failure of the technology on others in the company. Yet, prosecutors were able to show that she was involved in all aspects of the company and that she knew - and helped spread - lies about the company and their technology, which led investors to pour millions into the company based on falsehoods.
Holmes' story is something that actual movies are made of. She dropped out of Stanford at age 19 to found the medical company, Theranos. She claimed that she had invented a way for doctors and labs to detect hundreds of diseases using just a drop of blood from a finger prick. No need for those vials of blood to be drawn from your arm. But when the machines began to be used in Walgreens stores in California and Arizona, they were giving false or flawed results that led patients were given results that were just wrong.
Twitter has long had a fascination with Holmes. Still the best impression of Holmes I have ever seen:
Other hilarious tweets:
Let's see how much time she actually gets sentenced to. First time offender, money crimes, new mom (she literally had a baby just weeks before the trial started) and we are the middle of a pandemic. If I was a betting woman, I would guess under 5 years with early release and house arrest.
