A jury in the United States convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes guilty on four of 11 counts of misleading investors in the blood testing company on Monday.
Holmes was found guilty of investor fraud and conspiracy, but was found not guilty of three charges of cheating patients who paid for Theranos tests, as well as a related conspiracy allegation. On three counts involving additional, individual investors, the jury was unable to reach a decision.
After the decision was read, Holmes, dressed in a gray suit, appeared poised. A date for sentencing was not scheduled right away.
Prosecutors allege that between 2010 and 2015, Holmes, 37, defrauded private investors by telling them that Theranos’ small machines could perform a variety of tests with just a single drop of blood from a finger prick.
After the Wall Street Journal published a series of articles claiming that Theranos’ gadgets were faulty and incorrect, the company went bankrupt. In 2018, Holmes was accused alongside Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, Theranos’ former chief operating officer and her love companion.
Balwani has also entered a not guilty plea and will face charges at a later date.
Jurors heard testimony from former Theranos employees who said they left the firm after witnessing difficulties with its technology during the trial, which began in September in San Jose, California.
Former patients stated that if they had realized Theranos’ tests were defective, they would not have utilized them.
On charges of scamming patients, Holmes was acquitted. Her lawyers contended that there was no statistical evidence that errors were occurring at such a high rate that Holmes was aware of the tests’ inaccuracy.
Investors testified that Holmes made a number of false assertions about Theranos, including that the company’s equipment were being utilized by the US military in the field.
Prosecutors claim that if Holmes had been honest with investors and patients, the company would not have received key money and income.
“She chose deception over failure in business. She made the decision to be dishonest “At the opening of closing statements, Assistant US Attorney Jeff Schenk remarked. “Not only was that decision insensitive, but it was also criminal.”
At trial, Holmes testified that she never intended to deceive anyone and that Theranos’ lab directors were in charge of test quality.
Defense attorney Kevin Downey said in closing arguments that the evidence did not demonstrate Holmes was driven by a cash shortage at Theranos, but rather that she believed she was “creating a technology that would alter the world.”
“You know how crooks flee at the first hint of difficulty,” Downey added, but Holmes stayed. “When that ship went down, she went down with it.”
