Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty

Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - Printable Version

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RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - gailtate - 09-14-2020

(09-13-2020, 05:24 PM)teejers1 Wrote:
(09-13-2020, 01:55 PM)gailtate Wrote:
(06-18-2018, 08:05 PM)chrisk Wrote: She got support from Stanford stalwarts George Schultz and Channing Robertson.

George Schultz, for all his street smarts, business eminence and personal distinction, revealed stunningly poor judgement here. You can't make this up. Not only taking the Theranos bait hook, line, and sinker, but doubling down on his bets with a public legal feud with his son who was desperately trying to extricate the old man from this cluster.

grandson, wasn't it?

'Twas.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - 82lsju - 04-11-2021

Quote:Stanford University law school professor Robert Weisberg believes Holmes has two potential avenues for a mental-condition defense: claiming her judgment was affected or that she acted under duress. If the former, her argument “will be laid out in terms of something like her mental distress clouded her judgment so she didn’t truly form the intent to commit the crimes” perhaps because of an “overwrought or emotional state” that meant she didn’t think through the possibility that others could be harmed, Weisberg said. “You have to somehow connect the dots that the state of emotional distress … made it psychologically impossible to form the intent,” he said.

If Mechanic is to testify that Holmes acted under duress, Weisberg and other legal experts said the psychologist may focus on Holmes’ relationship with Balwani. “There may be some kind of effort at a ‘Svengali defense,'” Weisberg said, referring to a legal tactic named for a seductive, domineering character from a 19th century novel. “It would have to be in support of the claim that she was facing an immediate and extremely specific threat that harm would come to her if she didn’t do the criminal acts.”

https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/04/11/does-theranos-founder-holmes-domestic-violence-expert-witness-suggest-a-svengali-defense/?blm_medium=RecommendationList&blm_campaign=Geotagged

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - Softball Fan - 04-11-2021

Holmes better hope I'm not on her jury if she goes with the first proposed approach. I'd listen to the arguments, listen to the forensics psychiatrists, and follow the court instructions. However, it would be a uphill battle to convince me that over a decade an intelligent person couldn't reflect on the concept her product and all her bogus test results weren't doing harm.

I understand when the facts aren't in your favor you have to try something.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - BostonCard - 08-30-2021

Elizabeth Holmes' trial is about to start.

https://www.economist.com/business/2021/08/30/the-trial-of-elizabeth-holmes-gets-under-way

Jury selection starts tomorrow.

BC

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - 82lsju - 08-30-2021

that bad man Sunny Balwani made her do it.....

Quote:Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of blood-testing startup Theranos, plans to defend herself at her federal fraud trial starting next week by arguing that her ex-boyfriend, who was an executive at the company, emotionally and sexually abused her, impairing her state of mind at the time of the alleged crimes, according to newly unsealed legal filings in her case.

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/28/1031961327/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-trial-boyfriend-balwani-emotional-sexual-abuse

and other tidbits here

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/aug/30/elizabeth-holmes-trial-theranos-silicon-valley

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - Softball Fan - 08-30-2021

I've been following this story recently. I guess Holmes and her attorney don't like the prospect of arguing the case on the facts. This isn't the right strategy for her. At one time she was described as the first self-made, female billionaire in the world. Now her defense is going to be "Poor little me. I was too easily influenced by some bad person. He forced me to do all the illegal things I did."

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - chrisk - 08-30-2021

(08-30-2021, 05:23 PM)paloalto Wrote: I've been following this story recently. I guess Holmes and her attorney don't like the prospect of arguing the case on the facts. This isn't the right strategy for her. At one time she was described as the first self-made, female billionaire in the world. Now her defense is going to be "Poor little me. I was too easily influenced by some bad person. He forced me to do all the illegal things I did."

There is a tension between the presumed sophistication of her upbringing and her early "hidden" relationship with Bulwani, which could be portrayed as Svengali-ish, if she has top-notch attorneys and a pliable jury.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - OutsiderFan - 08-31-2021

Once a con artist, always a con artist.

I'm willing to assume Holmes cheated her way into Stanford. She is a psychopath.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - TriangleTree - 08-31-2021

(08-31-2021, 05:56 AM)OutsiderFan Wrote: Once a con artist, always a con artist.

I'm willing to assume Holmes cheated her way into Stanford. She is a psychopath.

Yep.
I'd bet good money she'd ace the psychopath test.
Then again she's likely to cheat on it, never mind.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - JustAnotherFan - 08-31-2021

This is going to be a train wreck. Representing oneself is foolish even for a misdemeanor traffic offense.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - CompSci87 - 08-31-2021

(08-31-2021, 11:28 AM)JustAnotherFan Wrote: This is going to be a train wreck. Representing oneself is foolish even for a misdemeanor traffic offense.

I don't think that's what the "defend herself..." quote above means. She won't be acting as her own attorney. The quote is just describing her defense strategy.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - needle - 08-31-2021

My non-expert opinion is that way too many U.S. jury trials boil down to a beauty contest (metaphorically speaking), with jurors making decisions less on facts and more on what their gut tells them about the "character" of the person accused of wrongdoing.

I think Holmes walks free at the end of all this, despite the strong circumstancial evidence (hey, I watched a documentary on it, so I can judge...) that she did have direct knowledge that her company's claims were unrealistic and, yes, fraudulent.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - gailtate - 08-31-2021

(08-31-2021, 11:36 AM)needle Wrote: My non-expert opinion is that way too many U.S. jury trials boil down to a beauty contest (metaphorically speaking), with jurors making decisions less on facts and more on what their gut tells them about the "character" of the person accused of wrongdoing.

I think Holmes walks free at the end of all this, despite the strong circumstancial evidence (hey, I watched a documentary on it, so I can judge...) that she did have direct knowledge that her company's claims were unrealistic and, yes, fraudulent.

Disordered personality, for sure and a caricature of the post-modern Valley. Aping Jobs' "wardrobe" was a giveaway. Hope the jury sees through the woke cosmetology of the victimized female. Attys. will surely start the re-hab project. Thing is, she knew precisely what she was doing as she flushed whatever ethics she ever had down her commode. She had as much respect for them as she showed for the suckers she duped (hello, George Schultz) and the patients she steamrolled. We used to say that "entrepreneur" rhymes with "manure". Sure does in this case. I think she does a few years of Camp Martha Stewart. Plus some home confinement. Then she goes on Oprah, writes a book and makes the lecture circuit. Reality TV show, for sure.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - teejers1 - 08-31-2021

(08-31-2021, 12:01 PM)gailtate Wrote: I think she does a few years of Camp Martha Stewart. Plus some home confinement. Then she goes on Oprah, writes a book and makes the lecture circuit. Reality TV show, for sure.

I don't know. Haven't seen any reports of Holmes being the least bit likeable in any setting/context, and without some charm/charisma/feel-good, it's hard to see her being any kind of a draw for TV or books or any such fluff.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - OutsiderFan - 08-31-2021

I don't want to be "that guy" who takes one little comment in a post and blows it out of proportion, but...

The "entrepreneur rhymes with manure" comment is a little over the top. As an entrepreneur having lived in and 100% rejected the Silicon Valley start-up culture, I know there are many kinds of entrepreneurs.

There are the kind who are opportunists and just want to make money. There are the kind who have the resources to start a business, but really don't innovate anything as much as copy what others have done. Then there are truly mission-driven people who want to do things differently, do innovate and don't compromise. A lot of them don't have the success the popular culture celebrates, but they have more integrity in their pinkies than most people in the Silicon Valley game have in their whole bodies.

Elizabeth Holmes was into the fantasy of being an entrepreneur and being adulated by others. She wasn't a serious innovator. She was a con artist and self-promoter willing to fool and take advantage of people. Mark Zuckerberg isn't that much different. But he had the smarts not to bite off more than he could chew, and as fas as I can tell, he isn't interested in being a celebrity. Of course, this makes Zuckerberg far more dangerous.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - gailtate - 08-31-2021

(08-31-2021, 12:56 PM)OutsiderFan Wrote: I don't want to be "that guy" who takes one little comment in a post and blows it out of proportion, but...

The "entrepreneur rhymes with manure" comment is a little over the top. As an entrepreneur having lived in and 100% rejected the Silicon Valley start-up culture, I know there are many kinds of entrepreneurs.

There are the kind who are opportunists and just want to make money. There are the kind who have the resources to start a business, but really don't innovate anything as much as copy what others have done. Then there are truly mission-driven people who want to do things differently, do innovate and don't compromise. A lot of them don't have the success the popular culture celebrates, but they have more integrity in their pinkies than most people in the Silicon Valley game have in their whole bodies.

Elizabeth Holmes was into the fantasy of being an entrepreneur and being adulated by others. She wasn't a serious innovator. She was a con artist and self-promoter willing to fool and take advantage of people. Mark Zuckerberg isn't that much different. But he had the smarts not to bite off more than he could chew, and as fas as I can tell, he isn't interested in being a celebrity. Of course, this makes Zuckerberg far more dangerous.

For the record, I happen to be a once-and-future "entrepreneur", having been present at the creation of three Valley companies, one of which went public in 1995. I was also a low badge-number at Apple, Network Equipment Technologies and NetApp (then called "Network Appliance". I was there when Pete's Wicked Ale did its IPO, too. I'm now the founding CMO of a "low-tech" outfit HQ'd in Scottsdale AZ. I know the territory, the milieu and the heartburn (of making payrolls), stomaching VCs and working long hours for NO PAY. Loved it. Still do.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - Mick - 08-31-2021

(08-31-2021, 05:56 AM)OutsiderFan Wrote: Once a con artist, always a con artist.

I'm willing to assume Holmes cheated her way into Stanford. She is a psychopath.

Supposedly, Holmes' mother was a social climber who exhibited similar moral/psychopathic tendencies. Both her parents were very political with high aspirations for using their Washington connections (they were based in Virginia). Holmes' father was an employee at (of course) Enron. Holmes' mother pushed Elizabeth to be like her, claimed their neighbor, a psychiatrist who owned patents and knew multiple languages. Full disclosure, Holmes sued this neighbor over a patent that cost him $5 million to defend. But when Enron when bust, a decade earlier, Holmes' father was broke and the neighbor, Dr. Richard Fuisz (MD) allowed the Holmes to stay in their house in McLean rent-free.

Dr. Fuisz also said that Holmes was not naturally emotive as a child. He also said that Holmes was a fair student with low grades. While in high school, Holmes' parents enrolled her in a Mandarin summer school class in China sponsored by Stanford in an effort to get her admitted. Mr. Holmes apparently had a contact at the IMF introduce him and Elizabeth to Don Lucas, who helped get Larry Ellison involved. Wouldn't be surprised if she had recommendations from both Ellison and Lucas. Seems to have worked.

Fuisz basically considered her to be a con artist for all the reasons that everyone understands. And it's widely known that Professor Gardner didn't trust her, and said Holmes didn't have a low voice, it was a typical female voice. But there may be some strong underpinnings to Holmes' argument that Balwani groomed and controlled her. When she was 18 and Balwani was in his mid-30s, he invited and took her to Paris. He flew her family to Aspen and then to Paris in his private jet and paid for their bills at an expensive hotel for a week in Paris.

As for the con artist part...just read the section in which Holmes used patent writers (who don't have a fiduciary duty) to essentially steal prior art, then had a respected firm (McDermott, Will & Emery) file the actual patents, implying that MWE actually wrote the patents.

Story in Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2019/02/17/4-startling-insights-into-elizabeth-holmes-from-psychiatrist-whos-known-here-since-childhood/?sh=78ef0c3a366b

Her ethic "Fake it till you make it" is baked into Silicon Valley. Her product was called "the Edison" which is interesting because Edison was part con artist as well:

https://www.vox.com/podcasts/2019/3/14/18264549/alex-gibney-theranos-hbo-elizabeth-holmes-documentary-inventor-peter-kafka-recode-media-podcast

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - oldalum - 08-31-2021

My daughter wrote a paper on Holmes for an English class on "Femmes Fatale", arguing she was a prototypical femme fatale. The book and documentary indicated she manipulated and conned many men including her Stanford prof, her board of directors, employees, journalists, and others. Professor Gardner, a woman, was not taken in. I'd be surprised if she was actually under Balwani's control: if this ends up with Balwani taking the rap and Holmes getting off, that would certainly clinch who was controlling whom! My daughter's teacher was convinced, she told her she might include Holmes in next year's Femmes Fatale class.

One day a few years ago when daughter was visiting, I drove wife and her to California Avenue for lunch. On the way we were talking about Holmes and the case. I pulled over to let them off at the restaurant when a parking spot opened up across the street. I was waiting for traffic to pass so I could zip across into the spot, when a sleek black car zoomed up and pulled into the spot. The driver got out and it was Balwani. We had a good laugh over it.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - JustAnotherFan - 08-31-2021

(08-31-2021, 11:34 AM)CompSci87 Wrote:
(08-31-2021, 11:28 AM)JustAnotherFan Wrote: This is going to be a train wreck. Representing oneself is foolish even for a misdemeanor traffic offense.

I don't think that's what the "defend herself..." quote above means. She won't be acting as her own attorney. The quote is just describing her defense strategy.

Got it. I read it too quickly. Although, it is possible she believes she is always the smartest in the room.

Of course, if there is any truth to her defense that would be tragic.

RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes indicted - Mick - 08-31-2021

(08-31-2021, 03:55 PM)oldalum Wrote: One day a few years ago when daughter was visiting, I drove wife and her to California Avenue for lunch. On the way we were talking about Holmes and the case. I pulled over to let them off at the restaurant when a parking spot opened up across the street. I was waiting for traffic to pass so I could zip across into the spot, when a sleek black car zoomed up and pulled into the spot. The driver got out and it was Balwani. We had a good laugh over it.

Some of you old-timers might recall Lincoln Savings & Loan, Charles Keating and the Charles Keating Five scandal (the CK5 included John McCain, Don Riegle, Dennis DeConcini, John Glenn, and Alan Cranston) in which the five Senators blocked investigation of Lincoln. S&Ls went from heavily regulated mortgage financing companies to deregulated licenses to print money. Keating had been involved in a number of near-fraudulent activities and was basically an all-around no-goodnik.

When Keating started to go to court (prior to what would become a five year prison sentence) he claimed poverty, showing up in court in bare feet claiming that he couldn't afford socks or shoes. Right about the same time, my in-laws stayed at Asilomar for a long weekend, and had breakfast at the still-fairly-new Spanish Bay Resort across the road. My father-in-law (Stanford, '57 and '59) spied Keating with a very young woman and said to my mother in law "Look, there's Charles Keating...with his daughter." MIL rolled her eyes, informed FIL that the woman wasn't his daughter.

My father in law and Keating arrive at the maitre'd's podium at the same time, whereupon Keating says to the the maitre'd "My friend and I are heading down to Santa Barbara, and we need hotel suggestions. Money is no object, I only stay in the very best hotels," and he and the maitre d discuss the topic as FIL leaves and heads back to Asilomar. He sees an elderly woman working at the front desk and says "Want to hear something funny? I just saw Charles Keating at Spanish Bay, at the restaurant." The elderly woman perks up. "Is there now?" she says, and my FIL replied "you might still be able to catch him."

From behind the desk, she produces a butcher knife, apparently intending to commit mayhem on Keating. FIL later found out that she had all her retirement fund in Lincoln, and she lost it all.