The founder, a star time of Silicon Valley, of this biomedical start-up which turned out to have never worked was found guilty of scam last January. It will be fixed on its fate on Friday November 19.
Le Monde with AFP
The fallen star of Silicon Valley will soon be fixed on his fate. In documents transmitted to justice Friday, November 11 in the evening, the prosecution requested fifteen years in prison against Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the start-up Theranos who promised to revolutionize the blood tests, when the defense , she pleaded for a maximum sentence of a year and a half.
found guilty of scam last January after a very followed trial, M Me Holmes will be fixed on his sentence next Friday during the communication of the judges’ decision before a California Federal Court.
As the hearing approaches, the accusation sent a sharp indictment to the court against the 38-year-old ex-boss, believing that it also had to return $ 800 million to its victims. “Blinded by ambition”, Elizabeth Holmes “has swindled hundreds of millions of dollars to dozens of investors” and “endangered patients,” said prosecutor Stephanie Hinds, accusing him of not assuming his responsibility.
His lawyers, however, retorted that M Holmes does not pose any danger, did not materially benefit from this case, and therefore does not deserve a sentence of more than a year and a half in prison prison For having failed in his “ambitious project”.
condemned for scam
Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos in 2003, at the age of only 19 years. This start-up promised faster and cheaper diagnostic tools than those of traditional laboratories.
Using a very worked story and appearance, she had reached the confidence of summit in a few years and to raise funds from prestigious investors attracted by the profile of this young woman, a Rarity in the male world of Californian engineers.
At the height, the company was valued at nearly $ 10 billion, and Elizabeth Holmes, majority shareholder, is the head of a fortune of 3.6 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
The story was beautiful. As a child, M Holmes hated needle stings during blood tests. Having become an adult, it therefore invents a simple, fast and efficient machine which allows everyone to conduct hundreds of blood diagnostics from a single drop of blood taken from the tip. But, in 2015, the Wall Street Journal reveals the pot with roses: the fabulous machine promised by Theranos never worked.
On January 3, Elizabeth Holmes was condemned for fraud towards investors. The jury, on the other hand, acquitted him from certain other counts, and could not agree on other facts which were accused of.