The Elizabeth Holmes case – or as it was known worldwide: the “new Steve Jobs” – finally had a resolution. This past Friday (18), the executive and scientist Elizabeth was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison, after being found guilty of having deceived investors and consumers of her blood test startup.
The scandal, which has been on trial since January, involves Elizabeth Holmes, who at age 31 was named by Forbes as the youngest woman in the world to make her own fortune, in addition to being strongly stopped by businessman Steve Jobs.
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She ran Theranos, a company that promised to discover diseases like cancer and diabetes without the need for too many needle sticks. They presented an innovative machine capable of performing medical examinations with just a few drops of blood from patients, in addition to obtaining results faster and cheaper than competitors.
Due to its revolutionary proposal and together with renowned investors, Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison, the company soon raised US$ 945 million (more than R$ 5 billion) and, at its peak, managed to reach US$ 9 billion (R$ 48 billion ).
What seemed to be an innovative and highly successful idea became an incredible failure, after the scientist was unmasked by The Wall Street Journal, which proved the ineffectiveness of the equipment.
At the time, Elizabeth's defense claimed that several other scientists and engineers were part of the creation of the device and that the lack of effectiveness was a lie.
But even so, jurors at the trial listened to the testimonies of patients and investors, and considered that everyone was being deceived.
Elizabeth's case took a long time to have a resolution, since the first Wall Street report on the fact was in 2015, and now, even after the sentence, Elisabeth can wait until April 27, 2023 to surrender, as she is pregnant with her second son.
Before enacting her sentence, the scientist cried in court in San Jose and said: “I loved Theranos. It was my life's work. The people I tried to get involved with at Theranos were the people I loved and respected the most. I am devastated by my failures.”
In addition, the scientist apologized to Theranos workers, patients and investors. "I'm sorry. I gave everything I had to build our company and save it. I regret my failures every cell in my body.”
In addition to Elizabeth, Ramesh Balwani, COO of Theranos, was also found guilty of all 12 counts in a separate trial and faces up to 20 years in prison. He will likely receive sentencing on December 7.
Technology Refugee did a very comprehensive article on who Elizabeth Holmes was, from her rise to her fall, click here to check it out.
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