Elizabeth Holmes, a former Silicon Valley star who pledged to revolutionize blood testing with her startup Theranos, was found guilty of fraud in a US court on Monday.
After more than three months of trial and 50 hours of deliberation, a jury in a San Jose courtroom found her guilty on three counts of wiretapping fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wiretapping fraud.
The jury was unable to agree on three additional charges against Holmes. The 37-year-old woman faces decades in prison as a result of her conviction, but the verdict will be handed down later in federal court.
On Monday morning, a jury informed US federal judge Edward Davila that they were still divided on three charges. The judge asked them to continue the discussion and wait as long as necessary, “without haste.”
Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 at the age of 19, promising diagnostic tools that were faster and cheaper than traditional laboratories.
Through a carefully crafted story, she managed to win the trust of prominent figures over the years and raise funds from prestigious investors attracted by this young woman’s profile. At its peak, the company was valued at nearly $ 10 billion.
