Elizabeth Holmes found guilty on multiple counts of fraud

Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of Theranos, arrives at the federal courthouse for jury selection in her trial, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, in San Jose, Calif. 

Nic Coury, Associated Press

After an almost four-month long trial, Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty on four out of 11 charges — three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Theranos founder now faces up to 20 years in prison, according to the Associated Press.

Out of the 11 federal charges, Holmes was found not guilty on three more counts of wire fraud and another count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The jury deliberated for seven days and were unable to reach a verdict on the remaining three counts of wire fraud per CNN.

Holmes allegedly defrauded investors of over $140 million by intentionally lying about Theranos’ blood-testing technology, which she claimed could test for a variety of conditions, including cancer and diabetes, using only a few drops of blood from a finger prick, CNN reports. At one point, Theranos was valued at $9 million.

In the closing arguments of the case, the defense claimed that Holmes “believed that she built a technology that could change the world,” according to CNBC.

However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Schenk said she “chose fraud over business failure. She chose to be dishonest with her investors and patients. That choice was not only callous, it was criminal.”

Holmes will be sentenced at a later date.