Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of now-defunct American health technology company Theranos has been sentenced to over 11 years behind bars for defrauding investors.
In January, Holmes was found guilty of four counts of fraud and conspiracy. Today she was given her sentence for those crimes.
Here’s what you need to know.
Background
Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 as a 19-year-old, after dropping out of Stanford University.
Theranos claimed to be able to accurately run multiple tests from a single drop of blood.
It was valued at as much as $US9 billion, and raised almost $US1 billion from investors, which included business magnates Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison.
Theranos’ downfall
In 2015, the Wall Street Journal began publishing a series of stories exposing Theranos’ dishonest practices, which included deceiving investors and providing patients with inaccurate results.
This prompted an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which found that Holmes, along with Theranos President Ramesh Balwani, had “exaggerated or made false statements” about the company’s output and performance.
The company collapsed in 2018.
The charges
Holmes faced 11 charges of fraud, but was only found guilty on four counts.
Holmes’ lawyers requested an 18-month house arrest, while prosecutors asked for a 15-year prison sentence.
She is expected to appeal the sentence handed down today.
In July, Balwani was found guilty of 12 charges of fraud.
