The founder and former director general of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, has lost an appeal against her conviction for having frauds investors in her blood test company.
Holmes was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.
In her call, she challenged the evidence and testimonies of the trial and argued that the statements of her ex-company and her romantic partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani about her level of responsibility for the financial model of Theranos would have had to be 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’ pretension to be able to carry out blood tests with a drop of finger sting instead of a needle in a vein was “nothing more than a mirage”.
“The grandiose achievements praised by Holmes and Balwani were half-truths and lies outright,” Nguyen wrote in opinion in the name of a panel of three judges published on Monday.
Holmes was found guilty in 2022 of conspiracy and multiple accusations of wire fraud for deceived investors on the financial health of the company and the efficiency of its technology.
Balwani, who was deemed separately and also found guilty of fraud of patients in 2022, also lost his call.
In the appeal, both disputed an order of the court to pay $ 452 million (358 million pounds Sterling) in restitution to the victims, which the court confirmed.
In Holmes’ call, she argued that Balwani’s statements where he said that he “possessed” the company’s financial model should have been included in the trial.
The appeal also argued that the former employees of Theranos offered an inappropriate expert testimony and an inspection report of the government should not have been included as proof – all the arguments that the court rejected.
The Silicon Valley start-up, Theranos, was once estimated at $ 9 billion (7 billion pounds sterling).
But at the end of 2015, reports revealed internal difficulties to the company and explained the limits of its technology. After a two and a half year investigation, a great jury charged Holmes and Balwani, leading to their convictions and convictions.
Holmes entered prison in Texas in 2023.
