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Jury selections begin in Elizabeth Holmes’ trial

By Yashasvini on Aug 31, 2021 | 02:31 AM IST

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Jury selections for the trial of former billionaire, founder, and former CEO of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes have begun. Holmes has been accused of duping doctors and patients and defrauding investors of multimillions of dollars through her blood-testing startup.

Jury selection in the Holmes’ trial will begin on Tuesday and is expected to take at least two days. Usually, the same process takes less than a day in lower-profile cases. Opening statements are scheduled for September 8 and the trial is expected to last 13 weeks.

Holmes was charged with an indictment in 2018 along with the company’s president and Holmes’ former romantic partner, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani.

Theranos had been under investigation since at least 2016 when Holmes and Balwani were temporarily banned from owning or running a medical laboratory.

Prosecutors have accused the two of deliberately misleading investors, policymakers, and the public about the accuracy of Theranos’ blood-testing technologies. They alleged that the pair "knew Theranos was not capable of consistently producing accurate and reliable results for certain blood tests, including the tests for calcium, chloride, potassium, bicarbonate, HIV, Hba1C, hCG, and sodium."

Both Holmes and Balwani face two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 10 counts of wire fraud. The two will be tried separately and pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, Holmes could face 20 years in prison. Prosecutors say Holmes not only swindled investors of hundreds of millions of dollars, but she also put thousands of lives at risk.

(With inputs from Fox Business)

Picture Credits: Bloomberg

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