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Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes takes stand in fraud trial

November 20, 2021

Elizabeth Holmes defended herself against charges of deceiving investors and patients about her now-defunct blood-testing company. If convicted, Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison.

https://p.dw.com/p/43HDb
Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of Theranos, leaves the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building in downtown San Jose, California, on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.
Holmes was praised by major US media outlets before Theranos collapsedImage: Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group via AP/picture alliance

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes took the stand on Friday to defend herself against charges of defrauding investors and patients about her company.

Holmes has been accused of lying about her company's diagnostic abilities, including touting technology that could run a series of tests much faster than a conventional laboratory setting using only a few drops of blood.

Holmes's criminal trial opened in September, with her defense attorney saying Holmes was a hardworking young entrepreneur who underestimated the kind of challenges her company ended up facing.

What did Holmes say during her testimony?

Removing her blue mask, Holmes said that her work at Theranos led her to believe in the company's technology.

She began her nearly hour-long testimony by recounting her early years as a student at Stanford University and her interest in disease detection. She ultimately dropped out of university and founded Theranos at 19 years of age. 

She told jurors about her early efforts to raise capital for the company, saying she met with venture capitalists from Silicon Valley. She named Don Lucas, who ultimately invested and became the chairman of Theranos's board.

"I knew him as someone who focused on building great companies for the long term," Holmes said.

"He had a lot of questions. He began a very comprehensive diligence process," Holmes added. Lucas even asked about Theranos's finances.

When entrepreneurs are fraudsters

A risky move

Though defendants are not required to testify in criminal cases, they can sometimes do so to cast doubt on the prosecution's case.

However, a major risk is that prosecutors can cross-examine defendants' claims, in an effort to expose possible inconsistencies or lies in their testimony.

Over the course of the two-month trial, jurors in San Jose, California, have heard testimony from more than two dozen witnesses for the prosecution, including patients and investors whom prosecutors say Holmes deceived.

Holmes, 37, has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of wire fraud along with two counts of conspiracy. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years of imprisonment. 

At the close of their case of Friday, prosecutors moved to dismiss one count of fraud regarding a patient.

rm/wd (Reuters, AP)