A federal jury found Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the startup for blood testing, Theranos on four of 11 counts of fraud on Monday according to The Wall Street Journal .
During the trial of 15 weeks, Holmes testified in her defense and expressed regret over missteps. Holmes said she never planned to mislead anyone when she claimed she was revolutionizing blood tests, the newspaper said.
Holmes was accused of nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud more than three years three years ago. On Monday Holmes was found guilty on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Four counts of the defrauding of patients who had taken the company’s blood tests were dismissed.
The newspaper reported that juries did not reach a decision on three wire fraud allegations related to investors. The newspaper reported earlier that it was difficult for jurors and the judge to reach a consensus on the three charges.
Holmes will be kept on bond until her sentencing. Holmes is likely to appeal the verdict which could take many years. As she left the courthouse the lawyers and she did not speak to reporters.
The upcoming trial of Ramesh Balwani (who is Holmes’s ex-boyfriend and chief operating officers at Theranos reported) could affect the timing of any new actions. He is charged with 10 counts of wire fraud, as well as two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His trial is scheduled for the next month.
Holmes could be sentenced to up to 20 years imprisonment for each charge, though white-collar crimes are more rare. The overall penalty will likely be reduced due to the fact that Holmes was cleared on a few charges.
According to the news report The judge Edward Davila will hold a conference in approximately a week to discuss the three charges that the jury did not decide on.
As a Stanford University student, Holmes came up with the idea for Theranos. She wanted to revolutionize the blood testing business by introducing a finger-prick system that could detect various health issues using just a few drops of blood. At its height, Theranos was valued at more than $9 billion and employed hundreds of engineers, scientists, and marketers according to the Journal.
Holmes claimed that its proprietary technology could conduct more than 200 health tests and identify various illnesses. The newspaper stated that Holmes was unable to use its technology for 12 different types of tests on patients, and that results were frequently inconsistent. At its lab, the company secretly ran most of its tests on commercial devices from other companies. Holmes also admitted to using logos from pharmaceutical companies to create reports for investors during the trial.
Source
The Wall Street Journal: “The Elizabeth Holmes Verdict: Theranos ‘ Founder is guilty on 4 of 11 Indictments in Fraud Trial.”
