The fallen Silicon Valley star will soon be set on his fate. In documents sent to justice on the evening of Friday, November 11, the prosecution requested fifteen years in prison against Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the start-up Theranos which promised to revolutionize blood tests, when the defense , she pleaded for a maximum sentence of a year and a half.
Found guilty of fraud last January after a well-attended trial, Ms.me Holmes will be set on his sentence next Friday when the judges’ decision is announced in federal court in California.
As the hearing approached, the prosecution sent a sharp indictment to the court against the 38-year-old ex-boss, saying she should also return $800 million to her victims. “Blinded by Ambition”Elizabeth Holmes “scammed hundreds of millions of dollars from dozens of investors” and has “putting patients at risk”justified the prosecutor Stephanie Hinds, accusing him of not assuming his responsibility.
His lawyers, however, retorted that Mr.me Holmes poses no danger, has not benefited materially from this case, and therefore does not deserve a sentence longer than a year and a half in prison for failing in his “ambitious project”.
Sentenced for fraud
Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos in 2003, when she was just 19 years old. This start-up promised faster and cheaper diagnostic tools than those of traditional laboratories.
With the help of a story and a very worked appearance, she had managed in a few years to gain the confidence of luminaries and to raise funds from prestigious investors attracted by the profile of this young woman, a rarity in the male world of Californian engineers.
Also listen Theranos: Silicon Valley’s Biggest Scam
At its peak, the company was valued at nearly $10 billion, and Elizabeth Holmes, the majority shareholder, is the head of a fortune of 3.6 billion, according to the magazine Forbes.
The story was beautiful. Child, Mme Holmes hated needle sticks when taking blood. As an adult, she invents a simple, fast and efficient machine that allows everyone to carry out hundreds of blood diagnoses from a single drop of blood taken from the tip of their finger. But in 2015 the wall street journal reveals the pot of roses: the fabulous machine promised by Theranos never worked.
On January 3, Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of fraud against investors. The jury, on the other hand, acquitted her of certain other counts, and could not agree on other facts with which she was charged.