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The founder and former executive director of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, has lost an appeal against her conviction for defrauding investors in her blood test company.
Holmes was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.
In his appeal, he challenged the evidence and testimony of the trial and argued that the statements of his former business and his romantic partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani about his level of responsibility for the financial model of Theranos should have been included. He was imprisoned for more than 12 years.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the arguments.
Judge Jacqueline H Nguyen wrote that Theranos’ statement to be able to perform blood tests with a drop of an idiot with his finger instead of a needle in a vein was “nothing more than a mirage.”
“The great achievements promoted by Holmes and Balwani were half truths and direct lies,” Nguyen wrote in the opinion on behalf of a three judges panel published on Monday.
Holmes was sentenced in 2022 for conspiracy and multiple positions of bank fraud for deceiving investors on the company’s financial health and the effectiveness of its technology.
Balwani, who was judged separately and Also convicted of defrauding patients In 2022, he also lost his appeal.
In the appeal, both challenged a court order to pay $ 452 million (£ 358 million) in restitution to the victims, which the court confirmed.
In the appeal of Holmes, she argued that Balwani’s statements, where she said “possessed” the company’s financial model should have been included in the trial.
The appeal also argued that the former Therans employees offered testimony of inappropriate experts and a government inspection report should not have been included as evidence, all the arguments that the court dismissed.
The new Silicon Valley Therannos company was valued once at $ 9 billion (£ 7 billion).
But at the end of 2015, news reports revealed internal struggles in the company and presented the limitations of their technology. After an investigation of two and a half years, a grand jury accused Holmes and Balwani, which led to his sentences and sentences.
Holmes entered prison in Texas in 2023.
