Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - Printable Version
+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: C-House! (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-4.html)
+--- Forum: The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-5.html)
+--- Thread: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty (/thread-16121.html)
+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: C-House! (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-4.html)
+--- Forum: The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-5.html)
+--- Thread: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty (/thread-16121.html)
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - Softball Fan - 01-03-2022
(01-03-2022, 07:08 PM)ca245 Wrote: Legally, I think the jury was right to convict her, but I have little sympathy for big investors like the DeVos family and Murdoch. They were sophisticated investors and the fact that people like Kissinger, Schultz, and Mattis were on the Board of Directors should have immediately raised a “duty of inquiry” flag: what do these people — especially Kissinger and Schultz at their ages — know about running a hi tech company or the technology?
Plenty of blame to go around other than Republicans. $1.4 billion invested in Theranos, a large part of it from VC and private equity firms. The amount those Republicans invested was small potatoes. Walgreens invested $140 million and put test kits in their stores without verifying they worked which is pretty damning. There are all kinds of government agencies from the FDA to the SEC that should have been doing due diligence.
Do you think Henry Kissinger and Mattis should have been in the lab checking out the results and doing medical testing? Channing Robertson, Stanford chemical engineering professor, was on the Theranos board and kept a close watch on the actual lab procedures and results. William Foege, MD and formerly with the CDC, was on the board and had a better background for evaluating the tests.
Inspectors from Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, should have been inspecting the process and test results. IMO agencies like CMS are far more culpable than Mattis or Kissinger being on the board for discovering the problem.
CMS is supposed to make sure labs are checking the accuracy and precision of each test performed in their lab. Also among CMS inspectors’ tasks: ensuring that correct results are reported to patients and that a blood sample tested on one day will return the same results on the test at a later date. To do that, inspectors check a company’s maintenance procedures, patient test reports, and quality control data. Inspectors are supposed to walk the lab floor, says James Nichols, a pathologist at Vanderbilt University and the government relations committee chair for the American Association for Clinical Chemistry. "Inspectors typically will read the procedure, review the data supporting method validation, and then tour the lab particularly to see the instrument workstation and speak with the technologists performing the testing to ensure that what they are doing matches what is written in the test policy."
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - Mick - 01-03-2022
I wonder how long her sentence will be? Federal wire fraud can be up to 20 years, and inmates have to serve a minimum of 85% of federal time.
I wonder if Holmes will end up in Dublin? It's an impacted federal facility, with 3x the inmates versus capacity.
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - washingtonismoney - 01-04-2022
CMS and FDA did a pretty decent job with Theranos, all things considered. I put more of the onus on Theranos's business partners. Mattis might not himself have medical expertise, but if Carreyrou's Bad Blood is a reliable source, he was directly and specifically informed by DOD doctors that Holmes's promises were dubious in the extreme.
I think the justice here is extremely rough: the injury was done to patients more than rich investors. But I suppose we take what we can get.
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - Goose - 01-04-2022
(01-04-2022, 12:25 PM)washingtonismoney Wrote: I think the justice here is extremely rough: the injury was done to patients more than rich investors. But I suppose we take what we can get.As I understand it the jury decided that since the tests were actually being done correctly using conventional lab machines (not Theranos machines) the patients were not being harmed. Obviously, there were at least some cases where this was not done but the jury didn't see it that way.
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - washingtonismoney - 01-04-2022
(01-04-2022, 12:37 PM)Goose Wrote: As I understand it the jury decided that since the tests were actually being done correctly using conventional lab machines (not Theranos machines) the patients were not being harmed. Obviously, there were at least some cases where this was not done but the jury didn't see it that way.
Yeah, seems odd. Whatever, I guess.
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - ca245 - 01-04-2022
(01-04-2022, 12:37 PM)Goose Wrote:Not all the tests were done on conventional machines. Theranos had to void two years' worth of tests done on their machines.(01-04-2022, 12:25 PM)washingtonismoney Wrote: I think the justice here is extremely rough: the injury was done to patients more than rich investors. But I suppose we take what we can get.As I understand it the jury decided that since the tests were actually being done correctly using conventional lab machines (not Theranos machines) the patients were not being harmed. Obviously, there were at least some cases where this was not done but the jury didn't see it that way.
Voided Theranos Tests
Per this SF Chronicle article, there were patients who were adversely affected by incorrect results, such as false positives for HIV or prostate cancer.
Theranos test errors
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - jacket3ree - 01-04-2022
(01-03-2022, 11:34 PM)Mick Wrote: I wonder how long her sentence will be? Federal wire fraud can be up to 20 years, and inmates have to serve a minimum of 85% of federal time.
I wonder if Holmes will end up in Dublin? It's an impacted federal facility, with 3x the inmates versus capacity.
Will black be the new orange?
Would having an infant mitigate the sentence at all for white collar crime? I worked for a firm in the '80s that really chased the prison boom. Mostly State, but some Federal. At one point I had been on site at probably 20 prisons doing drainage infrastructure. (Hint: no single pipe larger than 12 inches in diameter can cross the perimeter.) Dublin is minimum-security, if I recall correctly. That's a pretty good guess as to where she is headed, Mick. From what I remember, Victorville was considered the best "assignment" for federal women and it was pretty nice out there in the high desert mountains. There are few federal prisons for women.
On the State side, we did everything from San Quenton (super nice) to Pelican Bay right on the Smith River (scary), to Atascadero (not memorable at all) to Coalinga (fresh layout at three alternative locations including the Jayne Avenue site eventually constructed - no bathroom anywhere) to the women's facility in Susanville where I finally understood what it was to be a piece of meat. I was probably 25 at the time. Elmwood in Milpitas, which is County, was and is awful. We had to design special sewage grinders (Muffin Monsters) because inmates love(d) stuffing entire jump suits down the toilet. Send her to Elmwood. She can stay right in the heart of Silicon Valley.
All had the same basic entry procedures. No cameras, no jeans, sign this waiver. "If something goes down, you are effed and hereby acknowledge your effed-ness. We aren't even going to pretend to try to save you."
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - washingtonismoney - 01-04-2022
(01-04-2022, 02:10 PM)ca245 Wrote:(01-04-2022, 12:37 PM)Goose Wrote:Not all the tests were done on conventional machines. Theranos had to void two years' worth of tests done on their machines.(01-04-2022, 12:25 PM)washingtonismoney Wrote: I think the justice here is extremely rough: the injury was done to patients more than rich investors. But I suppose we take what we can get.As I understand it the jury decided that since the tests were actually being done correctly using conventional lab machines (not Theranos machines) the patients were not being harmed. Obviously, there were at least some cases where this was not done but the jury didn't see it that way.
Voided Theranos Tests
Per this SF Chronicle article, there were patients who were adversely affected by incorrect results, such as false positives for HIV or prostate cancer.
Theranos test errors
FWIW, the Wall Street Journal argues the government didn't give enough face time to patient-victims of Theranos's follies and didn't secure evidence directly linking Holmes to those debacles. https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-elizabeth-holmes-trial-u-s-gave-patients-a-small-stage-11641329202?mod=hp_lead_pos7
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - dabigv13 - 01-04-2022
She had the kid because her lawyer told her to right?
Hope she does a long bid. Probably won't dissuade the next generation of white collar criminals even with a stiff sentence, but at least make the grifters sweat a little.
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - BostonCard - 01-04-2022
I thought I read somewhere that the prosecutors lost a pre-trial motion and patients were not allowed to testify, but I could be wrong here.
BC
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - washingtonismoney - 01-04-2022
(01-04-2022, 10:25 PM)BostonCard Wrote: I thought I read somewhere that the prosecutors lost a pre-trial motion and patients were not allowed to testify, but I could be wrong here.
BC
The Journal writes that patients did testify, but for paltry duration -- nine minutes in one patient's case. They were deemphasized. But it seems the government also didn't have the same "smoking gun" evidence connecting Holmes directly to deception of the patients, as she personally deceived investors.
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - 82lsju - 01-05-2022
Stanford’s Bob Weisberg on Guilty Verdict for Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes
Quote:Any thoughts on why the jury did not find her guilty on all 11 charges?
The main point is that the jury wasn’t convinced of the fraud against physicians and patients. This was only a small portion of the government’s case, in part because Judge Davila wanted to restrict the time spent on it. But jurors were probably skeptical because unlike the major investors, doctors and patients were mostly relying on general advertising by Theranos or by secondarily learning of Holmes’s claims. Plus, for the patients who testified, the facts were muddy as to how much of the financial or medical detriment they suffered could be directly traced to hearing her claims. Of course, their testimony might still have indirectly helped the government win the major investor counts by reminding the jury of the potential public health harm of the fraud.
https://law.stanford.edu/2022/01/04/stanfords-bob-weisberg-on-guilty-verdict-for-theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes/
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - Mick - 07-07-2022
Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani was convicted of criminal fraud and conspiracy for cheating investors and patients after five days of deliberation. The 12 member jury were unanimous in finding him guilty of 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy for defrauding investors and patients. his $500k bond was modified to a $750k bond.
Balwani was initially indicted with Elizabeth Holmes, whom he'd dated for a decade, but she accused him of physically and sexually abusing her when she was CEO. Balwani refused to testify at her trial, and denied the abuse allegations. He successfully fought to keep the allegations out of his trial.
Balwani's trial began in March. After 20 days of trial and numerous COVID-related delays, the prosecutors rested their case on May 20 after calling former Theranos employees, investors and patients to testify. Balwani's defense only called two witnesses: a patient who was pleased with her Theranos test and an expert to testify on a missing Theranos database. They rested on June 9.
Government prosecutors depicted Balwani as a "stubborn" leader at Theranos, who didn't shy away from expressing his opinion, despite his lack of scientific expertise. He ran the $140 mms. deal with Walgreens as well as the federally certified lab. Balwani was responsible for inflating earnings projections.
Orrick (Jeff Coopersmith) led the defense. In their close, they attacked the government case underscoring a missing database that contained patient data and noting that a number of prosecution witnesses never took the stand and that the government only called biased witnesses who didn't want to admit their mistakes.
Elizabeth Holmes' trial concluded on January 3 with multiple conspiracy and wire fraud charges upon which she was found guilty. Her sentencing is scheduled for September 26.
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - Mick - 07-11-2022
Last four takeaways on Balwani:
1) After the Elizabeth Holmes case, the DoJ streamlined the prosecution against Balwani. The govt refined their evidence, were more selective with their witnesses and had a tighter case with a tighter narrative, resulting in the conviction on all counts. They didn't call Theranos board members (e.g., Mattis) or writers like Fortune's Roger Parloff.
2) The prosecution likely benefited from learnings in the first case against Holmes.
3) Holmes met Balwani when she was 18 and he was 38. His age and decades of experience working in Silicon Valley made him a much less sympathetic figure. Basically, the jury thought he should know better. Judge Davila, who presided over both cases, disallowed Holmes' abuse claims against Balwani, but allowed their decadeslong relationship and whether Theranos investors knew they were dating to stand. And Balwani didn't take the stand to explain the text mesages with Holmes in which he wrote that he was responsible for everything that happened at the company. And the defense was never able to counter testimony from investors and former Theranos employees that Balwani was angry and difficult to work with.
4) Consequently, Balwani will likely face very tough sentencing. Prosecutors want to send a message to Silicon Valley to deter fraudulent fundraising. Each of the 12 sentences comes with a 20 year maximum sentence. The fact that Balwani refused to accept responsibility for the fraud and the hundreds of millions lost means that his sentence will be both lengthy and likely tougher than Holmes' sentence.
The defense has some issues for appeal:
- Judge Davila refused to instruct the jury that they can infer that a missing Theranos database contained evidence unfavorable to the government (govt failed to preserve the evidence).
- Holmes was found innocent of charges to defraud patients, Balwani wasn't, so...grounds for appeal.
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - burger - 07-11-2022
Thanks for the update I hadn't realized until just this week that Balwani attended Stanford, too--four years in CS grad school, no degree.
I'm looking forward to the sentencing and then not hearing about these two for a long time hopefully.
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - Mick - 07-13-2022
(07-11-2022, 08:40 PM)burger Wrote: Thanks for the update I hadn't realized until just this week that Balwani attended Stanford, too--four years in CS grad school, no degree.
I'm looking forward to the sentencing and then not hearing about these two for a long time hopefully.
Holmes' sentencing was delayed from September 26 to October 17, 1:30 p.m. No reason was made public.
I suspect Holmes will be sentenced to a low-security prison, probably the one in Dublin where Felicity Hoffman and Lori Loughlin languished for a brief period.
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - BostonCard - 09-02-2022
I laughed when I saw this…
[tweet]https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1565819362380062720?s=21&t=iKpYq6NWPkWYTJMo2WcP9Q[/tweet]
Fool me once…
BC
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - TrumpCard - 09-02-2022
You gotta be kidding me.
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - BostonCard - 09-02-2022
(09-02-2022, 03:59 PM)TrumpCard Wrote: You gotta be kidding me.
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice… a lot of people should be ashamed of themselves.
BC
RE: Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes guilty - 82lsju - 09-02-2022
(09-02-2022, 03:28 PM)BostonCard Wrote: I laughed when I saw this…
[tweet]https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1565819362380062720?s=21&t=iKpYq6NWPkWYTJMo2WcP9Q[/tweet]
Fool me once…
BC
more details here
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/medical-technology-company-president-convicted-77-million-covid-19-and-allergy-testing-scheme