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- Prosecutors have rested their case in the federal fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.
- They called roughly 30 witnesses — including investors, doctors, and patients — over 11 weeks.
- Holmes' defense attorneys called their first witness, a paralegal from their firm, on Friday.
Prosecutors in the criminal fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes have rested their case.
The government said Friday it had finished its case against the disgraced former blood-testing startup CEO. The announcement comes after 11 weeks of testimony from 29 witnesses, including investors, doctors, and patients.
Holmes has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. One of these counts, related to a patient who did not end up testifying, was dropped on Friday. If convicted, for each count, Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and the payout of restitution to victims.
Shortly after the prosecution rested, Holmes' defense attorneys called their first witness, a paralegal from their firm acting as a summary witness.
Early in the trial, jurors heard from ex-Theranos employee and whistleblower Erika Cheung, who testified that the company's proprietary Edison machines frequently failed quality control tests, and workers routinely cherry-picked data points to remove outliers so they'd pass these tests.
Former US Defense Secretary James Mattis, who invested nearly $85,000 in Theranos, also took the stand, testifying that he wasn't aware when he joined its board of directors that Theranos was using third-party machines rather its own to run some tests.
"There came a point when I didn't know what to believe about Theranos anymore," Mattis said. "Looking back now I'm disappointed at the level of transparency."
The government also called Theranos' four former lab directors as witnesses. They have testified about voiding up to 60,000 tests over a two-year period, Holmes' "implausible" explanation for abnormal test results, and a "lack of clarity" surrounding the lab.
Another one of the government's witnesses was a woman who said a Theranos test falsely suggested she was having a miscarriage though that wasn't really the case. The patient said she discussed the possibility of terminating her pregnancy after getting the test result.
You can catch up on Week 1 here, Week 2 here, Week 3 here, Week 4 here, Week 5 here, Week 6 here, and Week 7 here, Week 9 here, and Week 10 here. You can read how Holmes wound up on trial here and see the list of potential witnesses here. Everything else you need to know about the case is here.
source https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-trial-prosecutors-rested-their-case-11-weeks-2021-11