SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The high-profile trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes boils down to a single question: Did she cover up defects in her startup's blood-testing technology to rip off investors while potentially endangering the lives of unwitting patients?
Federal prosecutors charged Holmes, 37, with 11 felony counts of fraud and conspiracy in 2018 after Theranos collapsed under the weight of her bogus boasts about its technological prowess.
While telling her own story on the stand, Holmes acknowledged making some bad decisions and other mistakes while insisting she never stopped believing Theranos was on the verge of transforming health care.
During her testimony, Holmes told the jury of eight men and four women that her former lover, Sunny Balwani, also Theranos’ chief operating officer from 2009 to 2016, physically and sexually abused her.
The New York Times reported that Holmes founded Theranos in 2003, and investors including Rupert Murdoch and Walmart heirs to help her raise $945 million to create the start-up.
The news outlet reported that the company folded in 2018 after the Wall Street Journal published an exposé once whistle-blowers spoke to them and federal regulators.
She faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of fraud.