Holmes' sentencing also sends a message to other founders and executives to note their statements to investors and the public, said Jessica Roth, a professor of law at the Cardozo School of Law and former attorney general for the organization in the state of South New York.
"It's clear about the importance of making a distinction between truth and optimism - and keeping that clear in one's mind," he said.
Holmes became famous for mimicking the disruptive world-changing chutzpah of Silicon Valley heroes such as Steve Jobs - a playbook that turned companies like Apple, Tesla, Google and Facebook into some of the world's most iconic characters.
In this program, he drew the attention of provincial heads, senior business leaders and wealthy families with sound plans to transform the health care industry. She has traveled the world in private jets, was honored with awards and glittering magazine cover stories, and has been hailed as the youngest female billionaire in the world.
But he got into crime when he lied about the accuracy, type and quantity of testing Theanos machines could do to increase funding and protect business deals.
"That is a crime on Main Street and it is a crime in Silicon Valley," said Robert Leach, an U.S. attorney general, opening statements at the start of the trial.
The verdict concludes with about four months of trial alternating between fun and play. There have been delays due to coronavirus shock, water pipe explosion, technical issues in court and the movement of judges. One judge was fired for playing Sudoku and another for his Buddhist beliefs. Crowds of spectators - many of whom followed Theranos saga through podcasts, documents, books and news articles - waited for hours to secure a place in the limited court seats.
"That is a crime on Main Street and it is a crime in Silicon Valley," said Robert Leach, an U.S. attorney general, opening statements at the start of the trial.
The verdict concludes with about four months of trial alternating between fun and play. There have been delays due to coronavirus shock, water pipe explosion, technical issues in court and the movement of judges. One judge was fired for playing Sudoku and another for his Buddhist beliefs. Crowds of spectators - many of whom followed Theranos saga through podcasts, documents, books and news articles - waited for hours to secure a place in the limited court seats.
Inside, the judges heard many witnesses and looked at the hundreds of evidence used to support the prosecution's argument that Holmes had deliberately misled investors and patients because of his fame and fortune.
The Witnesses included James Mattis, a former security secretary sitting on Theanos' board, and Lisa Peterson, who was in charge of a wealthy family of former education secretary Betsy DeVos, and invested $ 100 million in Theranos. Prominent investors including Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison, as well as two of the country's former secretaries, George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, who sat on its board, were discussed but never called up.
Evidence in the case exposed Holmes' role in fraudulent protests, false verbal reports, misleading claims about contracts, and excesses with Theanos. Judges of the country recorded and watched Holmes videos making uplifting or misleading claims about Theranos.
Prior to its closure in 2018, Thelosos spent two years of its blood tests. It paid to settle a few investor cases, as well as fraud costs by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
But prosecutors argued that Holmes' actions exceeded those penalties - they were criminal. It has led investors to lose hundreds of millions of dollars and patients to get unreliable test results, they say.
"Of the many roadblocks, he chose to be dishonest," said John Bostic, an assistant to the U.S. attorney general.
In his defense, Holmes 'lawyers tried to discredit the testimony of those who proclaimed the good news, attacked investors for not doing more research on Theranos and argued that Holmes' failure was not a crime.
Holmes closed the trial by taking office. During the seven days of evidence, he alternated between accepting responsibility for certain wrongdoing and throwing accusations at other colleagues.
He said he believed Theanos tests were working and relied on information from more qualified people running the company's lab. He also used his charisma to sell jurors with the same vision for the future, over the years, which helped him win over investors, world leaders and the media.
"I wanted to talk about what this company can do a year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now," Holmes said. "I wanted to talk about what could happen."
Holmes' claim that his good predictions were no different from those of other Silicon Valley companies contradicts government evidence, which is based on traditional fraud cases, Roth said.
"If some founders and managers commit a form of fraud that is suspected and proven substantial in this case, they should be concerned," he said.
Most surprisingly, Holmes accused Balwani of emotional and sexual abuse. The couple have been dating secretly for over a decade, and they have a place in Atherton, California, together. Holmes said Balwani, about 20, controls all aspects of his life, including his plan, his introduction and the time he spends with his family. He also accused her of forcing him to have sex with her. Balwani dismissed the allegations.
The testimony, presented in tears, threatened to respond to the prosecutor's case by conveying the judge's feelings and portraying Holmes as a victim. But it was a dangerous tactic, experts said, especially as Holmes did not provide a professional witness to substantiate his allegations of telephone fraud.
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