Pointers at Glance
- A US jury convicted Balwani of defrauding investors and patients about the blood-testing startup.
- The jury from San Jose, California, deliberated for a little more than five days before convicting Balwani on two counts of conspiracy and 10 counts of fraud.
- Elizabeth Homes was condemned on three counts of fraud and one count of conspiracy.
A US jury convicted Theranos Inc President Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani of defrauding investors and patients about the blood-testing startup that was once valued at $9 billion on Thursday.
A spokesperson for US Attorney Stephanie Hinds said that the jury from San Jose, California, considered for a little more than five days before convicting Balwani on two counts of conspiracy and 10 counts of fraud.
Elizabeth Holmes, Founder of Theranos, who faced the same charges initially, was convicted on three counts of fraud and one count of conspiracy at a separate trial in January. Sentencing for her is to be scheduled for 26th September. After Holmes said that she would testify that Balwani was abusive towards her in their romantic relationship, they were granted separate trials. Balwani denied the allegations.
Balwani and Holmes were charged in 2018 with lying to investors about the company’s finances and its machines’ capability to run a broad range of tests from a few drops of blood. Prosecutors also accused the pair of duping patients about the tests’ accuracy.
Theranos investors were set out for Holmes, with her deep, authoritative voice, black Steve Jobs-esque turtleneck, and her pledge to upend the laboratory testing industry by creating portable machines that could run a broad array of tests.
The company touted work with drugmakers, pharmacies, and the US military and took investments from media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
Theranos collapsed after publishing articles in the Wall Street Journal in 2015 that suggested its devices were flawed and inaccurate.
Holmes made an unusual decision to testify in her defense and denied lying to investors at trial. She has argued that the evidence was inadequate to support the verdict.
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