The jury gave its verdict in the case, which reflects the painful situation and contradictions of blood testing company Theranos.
The jury found company founder Elizabeth Holmes guilty on four of the 11 charges. Holmes was cleared of four charges. On three charges, the jury was unable to reach a verdict.
Many who have followed the story of Theranos through podcasts, documentaries and books believed that Holmes had no chance in court. After all, Holmes claimed that their machines could diagnose hundreds of diseases with a few drops of blood. And that turned out not to be true.
But Elizabeth Holmes was not one to be taken lightly. Because from a woman who, after leaving Stanford University, opened a company she founded at the age of 19 to reach a size of nine billion dollars; We’re talking about a businessman who even gets praise from Bill Clinton and Joe Biden.
There was another reason to think that Holmes might be acquitted. The trial process in such fraud cases is very complex and it is not easy to reach a decision. Because the members of the jury were asked to consider hundreds of technical documents. Dozens of witnesses were heard.
Holmes had become a mother last year, which was thought to have helped garner sympathy from the jury.
Elizabeth Holmes also testified in court. This is not very common in fraud cases.
In his deposition, Holmes described his relationship with his ex-partner and ex-girlfriend Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. He claimed that Balwani, who is 19 years older than him, put pressure on him and sexually harassed him. Balwani denied the accusations.
According to some who watched the trial, parts of Holmes’ testimony were particularly influential. The jury was listening to him.
And Holmes’ lawyers had an important trump card.
Holmes never sold his company shares. Although his company reached a size of almost 10 billion dollars, he had not cashed out his five billion dollar shares. These shares are worth nothing now.
According to his lawyers, if Holmes had been a real con man, he would have taken the money and run. Instead, Holmes believed in what he was doing.
But both can be true. So you can have a vision, a goal, a mission, but you can still cheat.
In court, Holmes was shown evidence, which he himself admitted was unpleasant. During the hearings, he said several times, “I would have done it differently now” happened.
One was the use of the Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline logos. The atmosphere was created that these two giant companies approved Theranos. But these companies had never done such a thing.
The prosecution used this issue as one of its main arguments. Because it was the closest thing to clear evidence.
There was another important breach in Holmes’ defense. Everyone you talk to says that Holmes runs the company like an obsessive autocrat, that he knows everything.
However, the defense team argued in court that Holmes was either unaware of everything at the company or was not brought to his knowledge of major technical issues. Holmes also claimed that he was unaware of some of the issues raised by the prosecution and that he did not remember some things. But this was not found convincing.
Holmes always wanted to be in control. According to some, that’s why he chose to testify in court. In other words, he wanted to manage his defense in court. But that didn’t work either.
Silicon Valley is full of crooks, scammers and charlatans. “Pretend until you actually do it” is a common phrase for Silicon Valley.
Holmes had a good word in court. But they were empty.
However, some say it’s significant that Holmes was found guilty as one of the few female top executives in the tech industry – the absence of male executives.
Ultimately, the jury’s decision will send the message to company executives that there are consequences for not telling the truth to investors, albeit in theory.
But at the same time, some believe that nothing will change. Because selling dreams is still a currency in Silicon Valley. That is, telling investors what they want to hear, rather than the facts. m.