Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, the one-time darling of Silicon Valley who promised a revolutionary blood-testing technology, has been found guilty of four charges in her criminal fraud trial.
The jury was handed the case in mid-December after three months of proceedings and testimony from 32 witnesses. Deliberations lasted more than 50 hours over seven days.
In the end, the jurors convicted Holmes of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud against specific investors. U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila will sentence Holmes at a later date. She faces up to 20 years in prison.
Holmes was found not guilty on four charges and the jury determined there was no verdict on the other three. Jurors said that they were deadlocked on three of the 11 charges. The judge declared a mistrial on those three counts.
Once heralded as the next Steve Jobs, Holmes raised $945 million U.S. from high-profile investors including the family of Betsy DeVos, Rupert Murdoch and the Walmart-founding Walton family. Theranos, at its peak, was valued at $9 billion U.S. The company is now defunct.
As the jury handed down its decisions, Holmes appeared stoic, showing little emotion. After the verdict was read, she went over to her family and embraced them.
Since its start last September, the Holmes trial attracted worldwide media attention. During the trial, the jury heard from 29 government witnesses, including former Defense Secretary James Mattis, who testified that Holmes exaggerated the capabilities of the blood-testing technology, doctored reports, concealed the use of third-party devices and faked demonstrations.
In a shocking move, Holmes took the stand to tell her side of the story. Over seven days, Holmes, at times crying, testified that she truly believed in her company and often blamed her employees for what happened. Holmes told the jury that she didn’t mean to deceive anyone including investors and patients.
Theranos dissolved in 2018 following civil and criminal probes. Holmes was indicted that year following a series of articles exposing the shortcoming and inaccuracies of Theranos’ technology that were published in The Wall Street Journal.
Holmes settled the SEC case, paying a $500,000 U.S. fine and agreeing to not serve as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years, though she didn’t admit or deny the charges.
Throughout her trial, Holmes was living at a 74-acre property that is currently listed for $135 million U.S. in one of the wealthiest areas of Silicon Valley.
