Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, was given a prison term of more than 11 years in jail for misleading investors in her blood-testing startup, which had a previous valuation of $9 billion (£7.5 billion).
The previous Silicon Valley celebrity misrepresented the capability of the system, saying it could identify illness only with a few droplets of blood.
The 38-year-old Holmes, who is expecting a child, sobbed to the court that the victims of the con had caused her "deep pain." In January, following a three-month prosecution, she was found guilty. Holmes intends to contest the decision, which was made on Friday in a court in California.
After leaving Stanford University at age 19, she founded Theranos, and its worth shot up when the business boasted it might revolutionize disease detection. However, the technology Holmes praised did not function, and the firm was shut down in 2018 due to a flood of court proceedings.
The Edison machine, which Theranos claimed could diagnose cancer, diabetes, and other illnesses using just a few samples of blood, was the company's biggest product, according to the prosecution at Holmes' trial in San Jose, California. Additionally, they claimed that Holmes had greatly exaggerated the company's performance to its wealthy supporters.
Holmes presented a speech to the court on Friday before Judge Edward Davila gave his verdict, in which she deeply apologized to the court's clients and shareholders.
"I am devastated by my failings. I have felt deep pain for what people went through because I failed them," she said.
Holmes was described by the judge as a "brilliant" businesswoman and then the judge explained to her- “Failure is normal. But failure by fraud is not OK." On April 27, she must turn herself up to start serving her imprisonment.
In 2018, Holmes and Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, her previous beau and business partner, were accused of committing wire fraud. This summer, Balwani, who was convicted individually, was acquitted of fraud charges. Next month, he will receive a punishment.
She was threatened with 15 years behind bars and ordered to pay $800 million in reparations to investors, including several well-known people including software tycoon Larry Ellison and previous US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who both testified against her during the trial.
The group mentioned Holmes' recent motherhood. She gave birth to a baby in July 2021, and she is now expecting a second kid. Her expected delivery date is unknown. It is believed that her attorneys will attempt to delay her sentence until after the birth of the child.
Eileen Lepera, a secretary from Silicon Valley who invested in Theranos and lost a significant portion of her life savings, told the BBC that she was "happy" with the judgment. "I think it's fair, considering all the facts of the case," Ms Lepera said. "She [Holmes] knew it was a fraud, and she put people's lives at risk."
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