Elizabeth Holmes, Former CEO of Theranos, Convicted of Fraud
After a months-long trial, Holmes has been found guilty of defrauding investors
Ian is the editorial assistant for LabX, Today's Clinical Lab, and Lab Manager. Before joining the team he obtained a masters in science communication from Laurentian University and an MSc in biology from Brock University. He has published several peer-reviewed papers and has a strong passion for sharing science with the world.
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On Monday, January 4, 2022, the former CEO of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, was convicted of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. Holmes allegedly lied to investors about Theranos’s blood testing technology, claiming the technology could perform hundreds of different blood tests using just a few drops of a patient’s blood taken from a finger prick.
However, a 2015 investigation by The Wall Street Journal had found that the technology developed by Theranos produced misleading results and patients were, instead, forced to get regular blood draws for testing.
This past Monday, Holmes was convicted by a jury on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. She was, however, acquitted on four counts of fraud and conspiracy that involved deceiving patients who received the blood tests.
Holmes now faces up to 20 years in prison for each count, however, Neama Rahmani, the president of the West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, was recently quoted in The New York Times saying that because Holmes has no prior convictions, she is unlikely to receive the maximum sentence.
Sentencing is expected to take place next week.
The trial has exposed the dangers surrounding some of the strategies used by many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, where overexaggerated promises have become the norm.