Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes loses fraud appeal

Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the now-defunct blood-testing company Theranos, has faced a significant legal setback as she has lost her appeal against her conviction for defrauding investors. Holmes was sentenced to over 11 years in prison for her role in misleading investors about the financial health and technological capabilities of her company. This news was reported by Mallory Moench from BBC News. On March 17, 2023, Holmes appeared in federal court in San Jose, California, where she presented her appeal. In her arguments, she challenged the evidence and testimonies presented during her trial. She claimed that statements made by her former business partner and romantic interest, Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani, regarding his responsibility for the financial model of Theranos should have been included in her trial. Balwani, who was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison, also lost his appeal. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed her arguments and ultimately rejected them. Judge Jacqueline H Nguyen, writing on behalf of a three-judge panel, stated that Theranos's assertion of being able to conduct blood tests using just a drop of blood from a finger prick was 'nothing more than a mirage. ' She emphasized that the grand claims made by Holmes and Balwani were filled with half-truths and outright lies. In 2022, Holmes was convicted of conspiracy and multiple counts of wire fraud for deceiving investors about the company's financial status and the effectiveness of its technology. Balwani, who faced a separate trial, was also found guilty and lost his appeal. Both were ordered to pay $452 million in restitution to the victims of their fraud, a decision upheld by the court. In her appeal, Holmes argued that Balwani's statements, where he claimed to 'own' the company's financial model, should have been considered during the trial. She also contended that testimonies from former Theranos employees were improperly included as expert evidence and that a government inspection report should not have been part of the evidence presented. However, the court dismissed all of her arguments. Theranos was once valued at an astonishing $9 billion, but in late 2015, investigative reports revealed internal issues within the company and highlighted the limitations of its technology. Following a lengthy investigation that lasted two and a half years, a grand jury indicted both Holmes and Balwani, leading to their convictions and subsequent sentences. In 2023, Holmes began serving her prison sentence in Texas. She was seen arriving at court to start her time in prison for defrauding investors in her failed blood-testing startup.