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The case of Elizabeth Holmes: Founder Theranos faces trial

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After 10 hours behind her at the witness stand, it became clear how Elizabeth Holmes, the embarrassed founder of the Theranos blood test, was able to speak to a group of fundraisers. separated by hundreds of millions of dollars.

This week, as before, the 37-year-old Stanford, who dropped out of school, seemed to have the answer to everything.

It helped him already know the questions, coming as he did with attorney general Kevin Downey; all parts of a quiet and collected show, delivered without masks and behind Plexiglas in the San Jose court.

While defending himself against fraud charges, Holmes seemed relaxed sometimes this week until he smiled at the judge’s jokes. Soon it will be very strong. State attorneys may have found time to wait for questioning early next week.

Downey led Holmes through well-organized evidence to achieve two goals. First, portraying Holmes as a passionate young entrepreneur with a deep knowledge of his profession, he has great confidence that his vision is achievable.

Second, Holmes had to deal with, and minimize, another strong evidence of the government.

In response Tuesday, he readily agreed to one of the biggest issues: that he changed Theranos’ reports to include logos of two major pharmaceutical companies – Pfizer and Schering-Plow.

Critics said it appears that pharma giants accepted Theranos’ expertise, which was not the case. However, the letters were sent by Holmes to Walgreens’ supervisors as part of a possible way to open a “health facility” within 3,000 drug stores. Walgreens became a leading customer of Theranos and the deal was a way to make more money which means that Theranos became a worthwhile company worth $ 9bn.

“The work was done in collaboration with the companies and I am trying to explain this,” Holmes said of the change, admitting that the pharmaceutical companies did not know what they were doing. “I wish I could have done differently,” he added – an expression of grief that never occurred.

Then there was another revolt: that Theranos hid the use of conventional testing machines because his weapons were not appropriate, as previous witnesses had suggested.

Holmes dug, saying he chose to go back to Siemens’ custom-made hardware due to numerous tests from Walgreens customers who needed support. Theranos machines are only designed to hold a single-person sample at a time, he explained, but third-party technology, such as Nokia-powered machines, can do more.

When asked by his lawyer why he did not disclose his change of conduct to Walgreens, his clients or depositors Theranos, Holmes said that instead of making the cover, he was defending security. new production: the ability to use existing test machines for the analysis of small blood vessels.

“This was something we understood from our expertise that we had to protect as a trade secret,” Holmes said. “Big pharmaceutical companies like Nokia could do what we did. They had more engineers than we did.”

In some cases, the atmosphere and the surrounding court indicate the dangers of what to expect Holmes, who in July became a mother. He faces 11 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, all of which are related to a lawsuit he filed against him, claiming that his promise, cheap and unhealthy in blood tests, was false. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Whether it was a coincidence or a well-planned arrangement, the call for Holmes to be a security guard, on Friday afternoon, sounded the siren for domestic and foreign journalists to arrive in San Jose by Monday morning to hear him speak. owner for the first time since Theranos fell.

It also means that judges are going home to rest on Thanksgiving and Holmes security in front of their minds – not what the government is saying.

Candidates for one of the 30 seats in the courtroom began to arrive at 3 a.m. each morning, with two journalists setting up fixed lines to reward early risers. The program was praised by a local schoolteacher who, after choosing to come out of curiosity, said he planned for his seven-year-old children alike.

Nearby, the lucky one – if not the most sophisticated – mother opened a suitcase to reveal “sales”, including a $ 40 blonde wig, or a black Holmes-esque turtleneck at the same price.

Sales sold outside the Holmes case included turtleneck jumpers and blonde wigs for $ 40 © Dave Lee

The experience confirmed that while it may not be the way they want it to be, Holmes has undoubtedly become a corporate brand. As she entered the courtroom Tuesday, her husband’s assistant shouted, “Sir! God bless you your boss! “- a derogatory but derogatory name that suggests that, for all those who are led by men who have failed to start, they say that it is a woman who finds herself in the harbor one of the most talked about cases. Silicon Valley.

Some say it’s not the Holmes gender at play, but its business choice. Compared to the “speedy and hacking” western software and social networking sites, the well-managed health sector offers ample opportunity for a ruthless investigation, as well as its fair value – as evidenced by one witness here who was falsely accused by Theranos. that she goes miscarried – it’s hard.

When Holmes is found guilty, some say it could confuse future patrols, which could lead to fears of failure. If Holmes walks away, it is a sign to investors that even a person who claims to be a continuous liar will not be exposed to criminals.

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