SAN JOSE: A US jury on Monday found Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes guilty of conspiring to defraud investors in the blood testing startup, convicting her on four of 11 counts.
Holmes was convicted on charges of defrauding three other investors, as well as conspiring to do so. She was acquitted on three counts of defrauding patients who paid for tests from Theranos, and a related conspiracy charge. The jury could not reach a decision on three counts related to individual investors.
Holmes, wearing a gray suit jacket, appeared poised after the verdict was read. A sentencing date was not immediately set.
Prosecutors said Holmes, 37, swindled private investors between 2010 and 2015 by convincing them that Theranos' small machines could run a range of tests with a few drops of blood from a finger prick.
She faces up to 80 years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila but would likely get a much lower sentence.
Holmes was also charged with misleading patients about the tests' accuracy but was acquitted of those charges.
Holmes is likely to appeal. The jury's verdict came after seven days of deliberations.
Holmes rose to Silicon Valley fame after founding Theranos in 2003. Her net worth was estimated at $4.5 billion by Forbes in 2015 https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2015/09/29/2015-forbes-400-full-list-of-americas-richest-people/?sh=50b24e03c647.
Wealthy private investors including media mogul Rupert Murdoch invested millions in the company after meeting with the founder who was known for her Steve Jobs-like black turtleneck.
The case has shed light on Theranos' failed endeavor to revolutionize lab testing. The company secretly relied on conventional machines manufactured by Siemens to run patients' tests, prosecutors said.
Theranos collapsed after the Wall Street Journal published a series of articles that suggested its devices were flawed and inaccurate. Holmes was indicted in 2018 alongside Theranos' former chief operating officer Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani.
She had pleaded not guilty to nine counts of fraud and two counts of conspiracy. Balwani also has pleaded not guilty and will be tried at a later date.
During the trial in San Jose, California, which began in September, jurors heard testimony from former Theranos employees who said they left the company after witnessing problems with its technology.
Investors testified that Holmes made misleading claims about Theranos, such as that its machines were being used in the field by the U.S. military. And former patients told jurors that they would not have used Theranos' tests if they had known the tests were flawed.
Prosecutors said had Holmes been truthful with investors and patients, the venture never would have attracted critical funding and revenue.
"She chose fraud over business failure. She chose to be dishonest," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Schenk said at the start of closing arguments. "That choice was not only callous, it was criminal."
Testifying in her own defense at trial, Holmes said she never meant to deceive anyone and that Theranos' lab directors were in charge of test quality. In closing arguments, defense attorney Kevin Downey said the evidence did not show Holmes was motivated by a cash crunch at Theranos, but rather thought she was "building a technology that would change the world."
"You know that at the first sign of trouble, crooks cash out," but Holmes stayed, Downey said. "She went down with that ship when it went down."
Reuters
Tue Jan 04 2022
![US jury finds Theranos founder Holmes guilty in fraud trial US jury finds Theranos founder Holmes guilty in fraud trial](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2022-01/81641260806_holmes.jpg)
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and her family arrive at the federal courthouse to attend her fraud trial in San Jose, California, U.S. January 3, 2022. - REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small
![Pelan Transformasi Air sasar tingkatkan air bersih, liputan sistem kumbahan - Fadillah Pelan Transformasi Air sasar tingkatkan air bersih, liputan sistem kumbahan - Fadillah](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721017239_TBFADILLAH.jpg)
Pelan Transformasi Air sasar tingkatkan air bersih, liputan sistem kumbahan - Fadillah
Pelan Transformasi Air sasar tingkatkan air bersih, tingkatkan liputan sistem kumbahan - Fadillah
![Warga Thailand mengaku tidak bersalah seleweng diesel Warga Thailand mengaku tidak bersalah seleweng diesel](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/41721103547_WargaThailandWitt.jpg)
Warga Thailand mengaku tidak bersalah seleweng diesel
Seorang warga Thailand mengaku tidak bersalah di Mahkamah Sesyen Alor Setar atas pertuduhan menyeleweng 322 liter minyak diesel.
Lilitan reben putih tak langgar peraturan - Timbalan Speaker
Ramli berkata, perkara itu juga adalah merupakan keputusannya dan bukan dibuat oleh Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Johari Abdul.
Kos pampasan tanah fasa 1B proses projek LPB Sabah RM1.2 bilion - Alexander
Anggaran kos pengambilan balik tanah bagi keseluruhan Fasa 1B proses pengambilan tanah dan penilaian pampasan tanah bagi Projek Lebuh Raya Pan Borneo Sabah (LPB Sabah) berjumlah RM1.2 bilion.
KR sedia tambah baik SOP pembinaan lebuhraya
Alaxender berkata kementerian bersedia untuk mendedahkan laporan kajian insiden jika ia melibatkan kemalangan berskala besar dan meragut nyawa.
![Reman suspek kes keropok beracun disambung dua hari Reman suspek kes keropok beracun disambung dua hari](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721107133_keropokberacunrem.jpg)
Reman suspek kes keropok beracun disambung dua hari
Tempoh reman terhadap seorang pemilik kebun disambung selama dua hari, bagi membantu siasatan kematian dua kanak-kanak yang meninggal dunia akibat makan keropok beracun.
KPM alukan pesara guru ajar Bahasa Inggeris
Jelas Fadhlina Sidek pesara-pesara guru telah banyak membantu usaha KPM dalam meningkatkan PdP bahasa Inggeris termasuk melalui Program Highly Immersive Programme Mentor (HIP Mentor).
![Tidak perlu lagi kemas kini status COVID-19 dalam MySejahtera - KKM Tidak perlu lagi kemas kini status COVID-19 dalam MySejahtera - KKM](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721100784_TBmysj.jpg)
Tidak perlu lagi kemas kini status COVID-19 dalam MySejahtera - KKM
Jika positif COVID-19 melalui ujian kendiri, pesakit boleh mengunjungi klinik dan hospital berdekatan bagi mendapatkan pengesahan.
![Mayat hampir reput dijumpai di rumah usang Mayat hampir reput dijumpai di rumah usang](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-12/41702437730_maut.jpg)
Mayat hampir reput dijumpai di rumah usang
Mayat hampir reput ditemui di sebuah rumah usang di Kesang Laut, berdekatan pusat timbang Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) pada Ahad.
Wanita dakwa dituduh Rafizi fail saman
Seorang wanita memfailkan saman terhadap Menteri Ekonomi, Rafizi Ramli bagi menuntut permohonan maaf secara terbuka berhubung dakwaan bahawa wanita berkenaan ialah isteri kepada bekas menteri yang dikaitkan dengan isu kapal tempur pesisir (LCS).
Bagaimanapun, Rafizi bergantung kepada pembelaan justifikasi berkata bersedia membuktikan kenyataan di mahkamah termasuk perlindungan bersyarat dan ulasan yang saksama terhadap saman fitnah yang difailkan oleh Zainab Mohd Salleh.
Bagaimanapun, Rafizi bergantung kepada pembelaan justifikasi berkata bersedia membuktikan kenyataan di mahkamah termasuk perlindungan bersyarat dan ulasan yang saksama terhadap saman fitnah yang difailkan oleh Zainab Mohd Salleh.
![Perbicaraan pengasas Theranos bermula Perbicaraan pengasas Theranos bermula](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2021-09/81631151377_TheranosFounderFra.jpg)
Perbicaraan pengasas Theranos bermula
Theranos itu dituduh menipu pelabur, pelanggan dan pesakit bahawa syarikat pemulanya mampu untuk mengubah dunia perubatan.