What's going on with the Theranos founder after "The Inventor"?

The federal government is suing Elizabeth Holmes.

As you probably already know, she was the founder and general manager of Theranos, the blood test startup presented in the HBO document. The inventor: looking for blood in Silicon Valley (as well as a book, a podcast and soon with Jennifer Lawrence). Theranos' former president, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, is also being prosecuted.

The couple has already been tried by the court of public opinion. Now, they will face litigation for making misleading statements about their company's ability to accurately test for blood bites for a catalog of diseases. Here is what happens with the lawsuit.

What are they accused of?

The government accuses Holmes and Balwani of two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud.

The first conspiracy charge alleges that the two men conspired to defraud investors, allegedly "making numerous false statements to potential investors about Theranos' financial situation and future prospects," according to the Justice Department.

The second charge of conspiracy alleges that they have striven to mislead doctors and patients about the speed and accuracy of the test results.

Most wire fraud charges involve six transactions. Investors transferred money to Theranos, which, according to the prosecution, was based on fraudulent claims about what they received in return. Theranos is also facing two charges for the results of the Walgreens Patient Wiring Tests in Arizona and a transfer to a New York-based New York-based media company to purchase ads for the centers. wellness Theranos in Arizona.

Why a wire fraud?

While the allegations that Holmes and Balwani actually made to investors, doctors and patients were allegedly fraudulent, it is the actions badociated with this fraud – to receive money, send money and test results – that the federal government continues.

In addition, accusing Holmes and Balwani of wire fraud means that Theranos' actions fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Since the alleged fraud included telegraph transfers, the federal government, unlike California alone, is able to pursue them.

What is the proof?

The material evidence we know is the electronic transfers themselves. But the prosecution would have more than 12 million pages of documents to hand over to the defense.

In October 2018, the prosecution also won the case to examine more than 200,000 pages of internal Theranos documents. The indictment also reports multiple press releases and numerous media appearances by Holmes that the prosecution believes are misleading.

What does the prosecution have to do to win?

Although most of the story tells the story of Theranos – a multi-billion dollar company built on a scientifically impossible idea – the biggest hurdle the prosecution will have to overcome is to prove that Holmes and Balwani were both aware of the fraud. planned defrauding investors and customers. They both pleaded not guilty.

But in a testimony with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a previous civil lawsuit, Holmes admitted to making false statements about Theranos, questioning his ability to perform tests and his supposed deployment in the military.

How much time do they watch?

Holmes and Balwani could each be sentenced to 20 years in prison and a fine of $ 250,000 for each cable fraud leader and each conspiracy leader, for a total potential of $ 2.25 million, plus any additional compensation for the victims.

When are they going to court?

The pair has a pre-trial hearing on April 22 at the federal courthouse in San Jose. At that point, they could conclude a plea bargain or discuss the logistical details of the case, such as the dates of the various motions filed. It is possible that they set a trial date during the pre-trial hearing.

Where are they now?

Balwani and Holmes are both on bail. Holmes would live his best life – go to Burning Man and baseball games – alongside his fiancé, heir to the hospitality and technology employee.

Have they faced another lawsuit?

Yes. Earlier in March, Holmes settled a case of civil fraud with the SEC. She will pay $ 500,000 to the SEC and has agreed not to hold executive positions in the companies over the next 10 years (though she is supposedly already launching new ideas while she is not in business). she is on bail). Balwani pleads not guilty.

Walgreens also sued Theranos for $ 140 million, hoping to recover some of his investments in the company as a result of their disastrous partnership.

And after?

After the pre-trial hearing, there will likely be motion hearings to discuss the evidence and procedural details of the trial.

In addition, prosecutors have indicated that the Theranos case is even larger than it currently appears, so that further charges could also be brought against Holmes and Balwani.

This story is under development and we will keep this page up-to-date with more information on the trials as they are released.