Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes testifies for defence in criminal fraud trial

Elizabeth Holmes, who is one of Silicon Valley's most prominent individuals and the founder of the inoperative biotech company, Theranos, testified late Friday in a criminal fraud case involving her startup, Theranos, and its medical gadget, which she claimed would change health care. For her activity as the CEO of Theranos, which she headed from 2003 till the firm's closure in 2018, the 37-year-old has faced 11 charges of wire fraud and conspiracy.  

Despite allegations against her, she has issued a not guilty plea. If Holmes is proven guilty, she may face a prison sentence of up to 20 years. As per AP, Prosecutors presented nearly 29 witnesses to back up their claims that Holmes has put patients' lives in jeopardy while deceiving and misleading investors as well as consumers about Theranos' technology. General James Mattis, a former United States defence secretary and former Theranos board member were one of them, who later explained how he was first captivated by Holmes before becoming disappointed. 

Elizabeth Holmes' criminal fraud trial

Holmes' testimony was a surprise move as her defence lawyers had not notified earlier of her taking the witness stand. When the trial began, one of Elizabeth Holmes' defence lawyers, Kevin Downey, started to question her about the whole incident. Holmes stated in one of her initial remarks that her team made a technological advancement between the time period of 2009 and 2010. 

As per CNBC, Downey questioned Holmes about her public statements about the number of tests Theranos could perform and whether she was restricting her remarks to specific sorts of testing, to which Holmes replied, "No." 

Meanwhile, multiple corporate employees testified, including whistleblower and former lab assistant Erika Cheung, that Theranos' gadgets could only conduct 12 separate tests, contradicting the firm's claims. Holmes had reportedly claimed that Theranos' unique technology could perform 1,000 blood tests. 

Investors claim Holmes misled them about Theranos' technology 

As per media reports, her company, Theranos, claimed to have developed a technique that allows it to do the most frequent types of blood diagnosis from a finger-prick sample, whereas older and conventional tests required up to 1,000 times the volume of blood and cost many times higher. 

During the trial, Holmes explained, "We were prototyping," further stating that the initial team was attempting to construct technical components. In addition to this, Downey inquired as to how Holmes funded the company's early years, CNBC reported. 

To that Holmes replied she has taken money from her parents which were set aside for her college education. Later, she said, she raised over $940 million from institutions and affluent people over the years, eventually valuing the business at $9 billion. While, on the other hand, from the prosecution side, a number of investors who testified before the jury, claimed that they were fooled by Holmes, who reportedly misled them about the technology's potential and market traction. 

The testimony of Holmes lasted about an hour and wrapped around 4:10 pm, and the court was adjourned until Monday. According to Holmes' lawyer, she will most likely testify before Tuesday. 

(Image: AP)