In a mixed verdict, a San Jose jury on Monday found Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes guilty of four federal charges for defrauding investors, but not guilty of four charges related to defrauding patients.
The jury reached no verdict on three remaining investor counts.
Holmes, founder and CEO of the now-defunct blood-testing company, was charged with 11 counts related to lying to investors, doctors and patients about the company's ability to run hundreds of blood tests based on a single fingerstick and to analyze the tests on its proprietary Edison devices.
The jury found Holmes guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of defrauding Theranos investors, including a $100 million investment by the family of former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, a $38 million investment by a hedge fund and a $6 million investment by a former attorney at Cravath, Swain & Moore.
Each of the four federal counts of conviction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, together with a potential fine of $250,000 each. No sentencing date has been set yet.
The jury found Holmes not guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud against patients and not guilty of two charges related to erroneous results received by two patients who took Theranos blood tests at Walgreens.
The jury also found Holmes not guilty of a wire fraud charge based on Theranos's ad purchases for its Walgreens services.
The jury began deliberations on Dec. 20 and continued for multiple days during the holiday weeks before reaching its verdict late Monday afternoon, Jan. 3. The trial began in September, 2021.
On the morning of Jan. 3, the jury sent Judge Edward Davila a note indicating that they were unable to reach a verdict on three of the 11 counts.
Judge Davila instructed the jury to continue deliberating.
Late Monday afternoon, the jury sent another note stating that they were unanimous in their inability to reach a verdict on the three charges.
Those three charges related to specific investments by Houston investor Alan Eisenman, Black Diamond Ventures and the Hall Group.
Judge Davila declared a mistrial on those three counts, which leaves open the possibility that the prosecution could retry Holmes on those charges at a future date.
Susan Nash is a reporter with Bay City News.
