Medical Technology Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes charged with 'massive fraud' - Sensationalist Headlines

[quote]Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was charged with "massive fraud" by the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday, a downbeat coda to a once high-flying Silicon Valley start-up that promised to revolutionize the blood analysis process. The SEC complaint charged that Theranos raised more than $700 million from late 2013 to 2015 while "deceiving investors by making it appear as if Theranos had successfully developed a commercially-ready portable blood analyzer" that could perform a full range of laboratory tests from a small sample of blood. “But in reality, we allege that after years of development, Theranos was able to process just a small number of blood tests upon its proprietary analyzer, and instead conducted the vast majority of its patients’ tests on modified commercial analyzers that were manufactured by others,” Steven Peikin, the SEC’s co-director of enforcement, told reporters. Holmes, 34, who once graced the cover of countless magazines and was worth billions on paper, has already settled the charges against her. She will pay a $500,000 penalty, be barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years, and return 18.9 million shares she amassed during the alleged fraud. Holmes also cedes her voting control of the company she founded in 2003 at the age of 19 after dropping out of Stanford University in order to pursue her start-up. Theranos and Holmes neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the SEC's complaint and the settlements are subject to court approval.[/quote] [url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/03/14/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-charged-massive-fraud/424670002/]USA Today[/url] [quote]Gen. James N. Mattis, who then led the U.S. Central Command, personally pushed Holmes' tech to be used although military regulators flagged issues with Theranos before the notion took wing. Mattis later joined Theranos' board, but resigned from that position when he become U.S. defense secretary in 2016. Mattis was one of many famous names backing Holmes. The Theranos board often seemed like a Who's Who of historical figures, including former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, former senators Sam Nunn and Bill Frist and former secretary of defense William Perry.[/quote]

[QUOTE=Steel & Iron;53202013]...worth billions on paper... ...will pay a $500,000 penalty[/QUOTE] I'm not a bean counter but this seems like even less than a slap on the wrist

[QUOTE=cccritical;53202138]I'm not a bean counter but this seems like even less than a slap on the wrist[/QUOTE] "worth billions on paper" is a reference of projected value; the company at best was worth 9 billion, but having your company valued at that is speculative of expected earnings had the product been real she probably walked away with [I]something[/I], but it wasn't billions

[QUOTE=cccritical;53202138]I'm not a bean counter but this seems like even less than a slap on the wrist[/QUOTE] I think the real hurt is coming from the 18.9 million shares she has to return. I don't know how much that equates to in dollar value, but I imagine a lot.

[QUOTE=Gmod4ever;53202175]I think the real hurt is coming from the 18.9 million shares she has to return. I don't know how much that equates to in dollar value, but I imagine a lot.[/QUOTE] then again, the shares are no longer valuable

Anyone who bought into the hype about Theranos is a fucking idiot and I don't feel the least bit bad that everyone involved is getting their just deserts now. [editline]15th March 2018[/editline] Frankly Holmes should be the one sitting in prison for the next 7 years, not Shkreli. The scale of her fraud was far bigger but Shkreli had the misfortune of also being a dick who loved negative media attention.

[QUOTE=Headhumpy;53202786]Anyone who bought into the hype about Theranos is a fucking idiot and I don't feel the least bit bad that everyone involved is getting their just deserts now. [editline]15th March 2018[/editline] Frankly Holmes should be the one sitting in prison for the next 7 years, not Shkreli. The scale of her fraud was far bigger but Shkreli had the misfortune of also being a dick who loved negative media attention.[/QUOTE] They should both be in prison.