“All savings used”: Ex-Superstar Holmes defends himself in court

“All savings used”
Ex-superstar Holmes defends himself in court

At the age of 19, Elizabeth Holmes founded her own blood testing company and became a billionaire. The prosecutor accuses her of having deceived the investors. In court, the 37-year-old is now defending herself on the witness stand – and is thus taking a high risk.

Former US blood test entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes on trial for fraud has defended herself against prosecution charges of fraud. The 37-year-old said on Friday before the competent court in San José, California, to advance her blood test company Theranos.

“I started talking to my parents. They allowed me to use the money I had saved for college to work on my patent. Then I went out to raise or borrow money.” , said Holmes of starting the company when she was 19 in 2003. Even after dropping out of Stanford University in 2004, she spent “all of her time” doing research for her blood tests.

This presentation blatantly contradicts the prosecution’s assessment, which Holmes accuses of having deliberately deceived investors, doctors and patients with the promise of a revolutionary technology for fast and inexpensive blood tests. If convicted of fraud or conspiracy to commit fraud, she faces a long prison sentence.

More than two dozen witnesses

The fact that the defendant took herself to the stand poses great risks for her. The prosecution now has the opportunity to highlight possible inconsistencies in Holmes’ court testimony to previous public statements.

Holmes’ attorneys argue that her client made “mistakes” without intent. You only tried to implement a vision, but failed. The fraud trial against Holmes began in September. Since then, more than two dozen witnesses have testified in court.

The self-made billionaire was celebrated as a pioneer for years, and in addition to the later Defense Secretary James Mattis, she was also able to win ex-Foreign Minister Henry Kissinger for the board of directors of her company. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch also invested in her company. However, it later became apparent that her blood testing machines were not working at all.

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