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Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes testifies at US fraud trial


Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes testifies at US fraud trial

Elizabeth Holmes faces decades behind bars if found guilty over allegations she defrauded investors.

San Jose:

Fallen biotech star Elizabeth Holmes took a stand Friday in her Silicon Valley fraud trial, a risky tactic to defend herself against charges that could expose her to have to go to jail.

Holmes is likely to face decades behind bars if found guilty over allegations she defrauded investors in her much-hyped blood-testing startup Theranos – once identified worth billions of dollars but collapsed because of allegations of fraud.

After prosecutors settled the case Friday after 11 weeks of taking statements from more than two dozen witnesses in a San Jose federal courtroom, the 37-year-old Holmes’ team began to argue.

Following two minor witnesses, the defense called Holmes to the stand where she recounted her career path with sincerity and the famous hoarse voice that became part of her investor attraction.

“I did it alone, then I started a company. I raised money to set up a lab and hire scientists,” she told the court.

“That company called Real Time Cures … changed its name to Theranos.”

Defending her carries significant risks as prosecutors can attack any inconsistencies in many of Holmes’ public statements.

Holmes launched Theranos in 2003 at the age of 19, promising self-service blood testers that could run the gamut analysis cheaply and on just a few drops of blood.

She attracted famous supporters like Rupert Murdoch and former US Pentagon chief Jim Mattis, but it all unraveled after a series of Wall Street Journal stories in 2015 questioned whether machines of Theranos work or not.

Prosecutors allege that she knowingly sold lies to deceive investors, but her defense said at the opening of the arguments that she was guilty of nothing more than to try and fail to fulfill an intention. thought to be far-sighted.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the syndication feed.)

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