Who is ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes and why was she on trial?

FORMER Silicon Valley star, Elizabeth Holmes, stood trial for several months on 11 federal charges related to an alleged scam.

Holmes was accused of tricking investors into funding her company Theranos, Inc. and in 2022 was found guilty of four counts of fraud and conspiracy.

Who is ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes? 

Elizabeth Holmes was once considered to be "the next Steve Jobs" after founding a blood-testing start-up that was previously valued at $10billion.

She is an ex-American businesswoman who was the founder and chief executive of Theranos, a now-defunct health technology company.

Originally from Washington, DC, Holmes grew up in Houston, Texas where she became interested in computer programming. 

She later attended Stanford University where she studied chemical engineering, however, she dropped out when she was 19 years old to start Theranos.

She also worked at a laboratory at the Genome Institute of Singapore where she tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-1) through the collection of blood samples.

Holmes is currently engaged to her fiancé, Billy Evans, and has two children.

What is Theranos? 

Holmes founded the blood-testing company in 2003 pitching the technology as a cheaper way to run dozens of blood tests with just a prick of a finger and a few droplets of blood.

Holmes said she was inspired to start the company in response to her fear of needles.

At the peak of the Theranos organization, it was reported the company sold more than 1.5 million blood tests, for nearly 176,000 patients.

The patients collectively received 7.8million test results, most of which were proven to be inaccurate.

Holmes stands accused of knowingly distributing false information to customers alongside former Theranos President - and her ex-boyfriend - Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani.

Why was Elizabeth Holmes on trial? 

Prosecutors have alleged that Holmes tricked investors into funding Theranos Inc. which centers on diagnostics and promised results that were faster and cheaper than traditional labs.

However, after years of hype, and billions of dollars later, the miracle machines allegedly did not work.

In March 2018, she and Balwani were arrested on charges related to the allegations and a trial began in August 2021.

On January 3, 2022, the jury found Holmes guilty of four counts of fraud and conspiracy and not guilty of four other felony charges.

As for the remaining three charges of wire fraud, the jury was deadlocked but Judge Edward Davila has since asked them to continue deliberating, in hopes of a verdict.

The jurors previously made two requests in their first week of deliberations, asking if they could take home the jury instructions for review - Davila rejected their request.

Their second request was to review the secret recordings from a December 2013 conference call in which Holmes made a presentation to prospective investors.

Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison on November 18, 2022, after being convicted of fraud in early 2022.

Holmes was expected to surrender on April 27, 2023, but wanted Judge Davila to oversee the case and allow her to remain free on bail.

Documents filed on April 10, show that Judge Davila denied Holmes' appeal.

Davila said Holmes is challenging her conviction saying that Theranos products "worked as promised."

"Whether the jury heard more or less evidence that tended to show the accuracy and reliability of Theranos technology does not diminish the evidence the jury heard of other misrepresentations Ms. Holmes made to investors," Davila said.

On Tuesday, May 30, Holmes reported to prison and began her 11-year sentence.