Elizabeth Holmes trial begins – the downfall of a Silicon Valley medical hero

Published

4 years ago

September 1, 2021

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The trial of Elizabeth Holmes, founder and former chief executive of medical technology company Theranos, has begun in California.

She is pleading not guilty to perpetrating one of the biggest frauds in Silicon Valley history, “an elaborate, years-long fraud” as the US government alleges, and faces up to 20 years in prison.

Theranos itself, which she founded aged 19, has shut down after the unravelling of its claims to have invented a revolutionary finger-prick blood test.

Holmes is accused of knowing this test was unreliable and inaccurate and of hiding this information.

The Downfall

By 2014 the company had announced a partnership with US pharmacy chain Walgreens, and Forbes was hailing Elizabeth Holmes as the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire.

Theranos reached its peak in September 2015 when the company was valued at $9bn (£7bn) and Holmes shared a stage with former president Bill Clinton and Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma in a panel discussion about equality and opportunity.

But a month later, the Wall Street Journal published a front-page story that claimed the company’s blood testing technology was so flawed Theranos was actually using equipment made by other businesses to carry out tests in its laboratories.

The Journal reported that the company’s former chief scientist had taken his own life two years earlier after telling his wife the finger-prick technology did not work.

The Charges

Investigations by medical and financial regulators soon followed and in 2018 criminal charges were filed against Elizabeth Holmes and Romesh Balwani, her former boyfriend and the president and chief operating officer of Theranos, accusing them of fraud.

The pair were charged with engaging “in a multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud investors, and a separate scheme to defraud doctors and patients” and each face two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud.

Theranos made misrepresentations to doctors and patients about the reliability of its tests, the Department of Justice alleged.

The executives were also accused of making misrepresentations to investors about the financial condition of the company, celebrating expected sales of over $1bn when they were actually bringing in just a few hundred thousand.

The Trial

Lawyers for Holmes are expected to argue that she was working with an impaired mental state at the time of the fraud due to alleged sexual abuse and coercive behaviour by Ramesh Balwani.

Balwani’s lawyers have denied these claims.

His trial is set to take place next year after his lawyers sought to have him tried separately to avoid Holmes’ testimony prejudicing the jury. He too has pleaded not guilty.

According to an unsealed court document written by Balwani’s lawyers when seeking to have his case heard separately, she “plans to introduce evidence that Mr Balwani verbally disparaged her and withdrew ‘affection if she displeased him’; controlled what she ate, how she dressed, how much money she could spend, [and] who she could interact with”.

The jury selection process has been a challenge, with dozens already removed after confirming their familiarity with media coverage of the case, and with others now asked whether they have any experience of abusive relationships.

The main defence expected from Holmes’ lawyers is that Balwani’s controlling behaviour “erased her capacity to make decisions”, including in the case of knowingly defrauding investors, doctors and patients.

What does it mean?

Both defendants previously reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, relinquishing their shares in the company and paying a $500,000 (£360,000) penalty.

But their case is also emblematic of what is often seen as a culture of ‘fake-it-until-you-make-it’ among Silicon Valley startups, as Sky News business presenter Ian King writes.

Analysis by Ian King, business presenter

There are many lessons to be drawn from the Theranos affair, but perhaps the most worrying thing that has emerged is the culture of secrecy that existed in Theranos, a culture that was – and is – by no means unique in Silicon Valley.

John Carreyrou, the investigative journalist at the Journal whose stories exposed the scandal, has since written a book on the saga, Bad Blood, which highlights the weirdly cultish nature of the company.

Again, in this regard, Theranos was perhaps not so different from a number of other companies in the Valley.

Quite apart from the crushing losses for investors, this secrecy and cult-like nature had other real-world consequences, with many patients likely to have received erroneous blood test results.

There are many outstanding questions surrounding Theranos, not least the outcome of Ms Holmes and Mr Balwani’s forthcoming fraud trial, as well as whether the remaining patents being acquired by Fortress will turn out to have any lasting value.

The biggest of all, though, is whether there are other tech companies presently enjoying outlandish valuations that eventually turn out to be similarly flawed.

The chances must be that there are.

Jury selection has begun in the trial, which the court expects may continue into December.

US

Trump ‘very disappointed’ in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to ‘sit down and sign a deal’

Published

48 mins ago

April 28, 2025

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Trump 'very disappointed' in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to 'sit down and sign a deal'

Donald Trump has said he’s “very disappointed” with Russia as he continues to push for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

On Saturday, the US president met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican for their first face-to-face meeting since their explosive White House summit.

The Ukrainian president said the meeting ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral could end up being “historic.” Hours later, Mr Trump questioned Vladimir Putin’s appetite for peace in a Truth Social post.

Speaking before boarding Air Force One on Sunday, Mr Trump again said the meeting went well, and that the Ukrainian leader was “calmer”.

“I think he understands the picture, I think he wants to make a deal,” he said, before turning to Mr Putin and Russia.

“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” the US president said, adding he was “very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places (including Kyiv, where nine people were killed in a Russian airstrike on Friday) after discussions”.

However, Mr Trump said he thinks Mr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea, which the Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said he would refuse to do.

He added that “we’ll see what happens in the next few days” and said “don’t talk to me about Crimea, talk to Obama and Biden about Crimea”.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, while Barack Obama was president.

Meanwhile, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that a peace deal to end the war was “closer in general than they’ve been any time in the last three years, but it’s still not there”.

“If this was an easy war to end, it would have been ended by someone else a long time ago,” he added on the Meet the Press show.

It comes after North Korea confirmed it had deployed troops to fight for Russia, months after Ukraine and Western officials said its forces were in Europe.

State media outlet KCNA reported North Korean soldiers made an “important contribution” to expelling Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, likely to be the Kursk region.

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KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un made the decision to deploy troops to Russia and notified Moscow, and quoted him as saying: “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”

It also quoted the country’s ruling Workers’ Party as saying the end of the battle to liberate Kursk showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia.

Last June, Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty after a state visit – his first to the country in 24 years.

The North Korean leader promised at the time “full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine”.

US

Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died, her family says

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2025

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Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died, her family says

Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.

In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.

“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.

“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.

“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”

Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.

“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.

“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”

Sexual assault claims

Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.

In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.

She stuck by her version of events until the end

Of the many dozens of victims of Jeffrey Epstein, it was Virginia Giuffre who became the most high-profile.

She was among the loudest and most compelling voices, urging criminal charges to be brought against Epstein, waving her right to anonymity in 2015.

She told how he and Ghislaine Maxwell groomed her and “passed around like a platter of fruit” to be used by rich and powerful men.

But her name and face became known around the world after she accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17 years old.

The picture of her together with the prince and Maxwell at the top of a staircase, his hand around her waist, is the defining image of the whole scandal.

Prince Andrew said he had no memory of the occasion. But Giuffre stuck by her version of events until the end.

‘An incredible champion’

Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.

“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”

“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.

Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.

“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.

“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.

“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”

Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.

Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.

She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.

‘A survivor’

After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.

She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.

“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”

:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

US

Trump met with Zelenskyy ahead of Pope’s funeral

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2025

admin

Trump met with Zelenskyy ahead of Pope's funeral

Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.

The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.

They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.

Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners

There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.

The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.

He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.

The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.

They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.

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