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According to a new court case, Theranos’ alleged fraudster, Elizabeth Holmes, is pregnant and may delay her trial for several weeks.
Holmes is accused of fraud for her role at the helm of Theranos, a blood testing start-up that was a rising star in Silicon Valley before it was revealed she had misrepresented the effectiveness of her technology.
Holmes’ attorneys asked the judge on March 2 to delay the start of jury selection until Aug. 31, after the due date.
“The parties have met and conferred, and both parties agree that, in light of this development, it is not feasible to begin the trial on July 13, 2021, as currently scheduled.” said the presentation.
Holmes, who famously left Stanford at age 19, founded Theranos in 2003 with the goal of revolutionizing blood testing. He quickly became a star in early space that is largely dominated by men.
The rise and fall of the company became a cautionary tale about the traps of the Silicon Valley drum machine: it received brilliant media coverage and raised more than $ 700 million from investors by claiming that it had invented a machine that could perform hundreds of laboratory tests with a single finger. -blood point. Tests unfolded in Walgreens stores and Theranos reached a valuation of $ 9 billion before it became clear that many of the claims about the company’s alleged revolutionary blood test were false.
Holmes and former Theranos president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani pleaded not guilty to the charges for defrauding investors, doctors and patients. Theranos tests on calcium, potassium, HIV, and diabetes, for example, distorted its effectiveness.
“Based on these representations, many hundreds of patients paid or caused their health insurance companies to pay Theranos for blood tests and test results, sometimes after referrals from their deceived doctors.” , said the initial indictment.
Holmes was indicted in 2018 and his federal trial in San Jose, California, was initially scheduled for July 28, 2020, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Balwani’s case is being handled separately and his trial is scheduled to begin on January 18th.
The Silicon Valley saga has inspired a best-selling book, a popular podcast, several documentaries and a feature film.