


2 at Theranos, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani with fraud, kicking off a long-running legal battle that resulted in prison sentences five years later.īalwani was also convicted, in a separate trial, and he was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison. Then, in June 2018, federal prosecutors charged Holmes, and her ex-partner and No.
SILICON VALLEY TECHCRUNCH TRIAL
He later wrote a best-selling book on Holmes' hoax called "Bad Blood."īusiness Ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes takes the witness stand in her fraud trial
SILICON VALLEY TECHCRUNCH SERIES
Much of the scrutiny was set in motion by journalist John Carreyrou, who wrote a series of stories for The Wall Street Journal on Theranos beginning in 2015 that shed light on the company' misleading claims. She drew comparisons to Steve Jobs and landed on the cover of magazines for being a once-in-generation innovator.īut it turned out that her blood-testing machines, which she named the Edison, was only being used to analyze a fraction of the blood samples the company was processing, and when it was used, results were riddled with inaccuracies. Holmes, who made public appearances in black turtlenecks and spoke in her signature baritone voice, amazed the business world with her promises of revolutionizing the health care industry. It is unclear how long Holmes will be at the prison camp in Bryan, Texas, but The Wall Street Journal reports that many inmates are released early from the facility for good conduct and participation in prison programs, including training Labrador puppies for work as service dogs, or working in the facility's kitchen, which pays 12 cents an hour.Īmong recreational activities offered to inmates: "beading, knitting, ceramics, paper art, fimo, crocheting, quilling, plastic canvas, and beading," according to the handbook. Will she serve the entire 11 years in prison? Supreme Court, but it would be highly unusual for the high court to intervene in such a case. She could appeal her case all the way to the U.S. She has not yet exhausted her appeals process, though she will now have to fight her conviction from prison. One factor that weighed heavily in Holmes' lengthy prison sentence was the hundreds of thousands of dollars she defrauded from investors, which, under federal sentencing guidelines, put her recommended range between 11 and 14 years behind bars. She was also ordered to pay $452 million in restitution to investors including media mogul Rupert Murdoch and former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Months later, the federal judge who oversaw the case, Edward Davila, handed down an 11-year sentence for Holmes.
