Friday, in a federal courthouse in San Jose, California, Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Holmes is the former CEO of Theranos. She became a billionaire after starting the blood testing startup company. She was eventually busted for fraud and convicted earlier this year.
Here’s how it started.
Holmes, a Stanford University dropout, announced she created a groundbreaking technology that could scan hundreds of conditions with just a few drops of blood. Amazing, right? Well, the world thought the tech was incredible and would revolutionize healthcare. Holmes appeared to have done something that scientists worldwide had been trying to do for years. After convincing investors the technology worked, Holmes was able to gain nearly $1 billion in investments. Holmes eventually became a billionaire and was labeled a Silicon Valley star.
Here’s how it ended.
Then the downfall came. Eventually, journalists and others became skeptical of this technology worked. Whistleblowers got wind of what was happening, and Holmes found herself in a courtroom trying to avoid jail time. Prosecutors accused the Theranos CEO of fudging test results, lying about her tests’ capabilities, and trying to cover it up. In January of this year, a jury convicted Holmes on four wire fraud-related counts for her role in deceiving investors. Prosecutors wanted Holmes to serve 15 years to deter others from future fraudulent schemes in the tech industry. Her defense pushed for home confinement. The now mother-to-be of her second child will begin to serve her sentence inside a prison in April.
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