Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and former CEO of Theranos, has been found guilty on four charges related to defrauding investors in her blood-testing company, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Theranos, which was once valued at $9 billion, said it could run a number of blood tests using only a drop of blood from patients, but its claims unraveled following a series of articles that appeared in the Journal beginning in 2015 that questioned the company's technology and noted irregularities in its testing procedures.
Holmes and Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani, the former Theranos president, were indicted in 2018 on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as prosecutors alleged that they defrauded their financial investors. Holmes's trial began in late August — the trials were separated as Holmes alleged that Balwani, her former boyfriend, abused her, which he denies, the Journal notes — and lasted months and included Holmes testifying in her own defense.
The jury convicted Holmes on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the Financial Times reports. It adds that she was found not guilty on four counts related to defrauding patients and that the jury was unable to reach a verdict on three additional investor-related charges. The Journal adds that Holmes is likely to appeal.
Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison for each count for which she was found guilty, the Journal says, though it notes that she is unlikely to receive the maximum sentence.