Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for duping investors out of their money with her now-defunct blood testing startup. At its highest, the company’s value was $9 billion.
After being convicted by a jury in January following a three-month trial, Holmes was sentenced on 3 counts of defrauding investors and one count of conspiracy in San Jose, California. The prosecution had recommended 15 years in prison while the defense urged for no sentence to be imposed.
Theranos and defrauding investors
At only 19 years old, Holmes founded Theranos- a company which uses an innovative blood test that requires little amount to give reliable results for many diseases.
In 2014, the company’s value reached $9 billion, and Elizabeth Holmes was titled the “youngest self-made billionaire” by Forbes magazine and the “successor to Steve Jobs” by another media outlet.
However, everything she achieved falls apart when it’s revealed that the blood test technology was fake and she is put on trial for fraud.
