Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes Found Guilty of Fraud and Conspiracy

A federal jury convicted former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes on four counts of fraud and conspiracy Monday, ending a lengthy trial that has captivated Silicon Valley.

The jury found her not guilty of four other felony charges and was deadlocked on the three remaining charges.

Holmes, who had bowed her head several times before the jury was polled by the judge, remained seated and expressed no visible emotion as the verdicts were read. Her partner, Billy Evans, showed agitation in earlier moments but appeared calm during the verdict reading.

After the judge left the courtroom to meet with jurors individually, Holmes got up to hug her partner Billy Evans and her parents before leaving with her lawyers.

Earlier in the day, the jury informed the court that they were deadlocked on three of the 11 counts Holmes was charged with. After conferring with lawyers for the defense and prosecution, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila sent for the jury in order to encourage it to deliberate further.

Once the jury returned to court, Davila instructed its members to do their best to reach a verdict, noting that they should re-examine their own views and change their opinions if persuaded they are wrong. He also reminded them that charges must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Jurors then returned to their deliberations, which they began on Monday after an extended holiday break.

The eight men and four women who determined Holmes’ fate spent much of their holiday season behind closed doors in a San Jose, California, courthouse, weighing reams of evidence presented during a three-month trial that captivated Silicon Valley.

Prior to Monday’s deliberations, the jury had spent a total of roughly 40 hours across six days discussing the charges against Holmes, a former Silicon Valley star CEO facing up to 20 years in prison if she is found guilty.

Holmes, 37, was charged with 11 criminal counts alleging that she duped investors and patients by hailing her company’s blood-testing technology as a medical breakthrough when in fact it was prone to wild errors.

Elizabeth Holmes (right) speaks as former U.S. President Bill Clinton (left) listens during the closing session of the Clinton Global Initiative 2015 on September 29, 2015, in New York City. (JP Yim/Getty Images)

Elizabeth Holmes (left) and Alan Murray speak at Fortune magazine’s Fortune Global Forum on November 2, 2015, in San Francisco, California. (Kimberly White/Getty Images for Fortune)

NBC News Special Anchor Maria Shriver (left) and Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes speak onstage during the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit on October 6, 2015, in San Francisco, California. (Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

Before those problems were exposed in 2015 and 2016 by stories in the Wall Street Journal and a regulatory audit, Holmes briefly realized her aspirations for fame and fortune while raising more than $900 million from a list of renowned investors that included media mogul Rupert Murdoch, software mogul Larry Ellison, the family of former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and the Walton family behind Walmart.

At Theranos’ height, Holmes had amassed a fortune of $4.5 billion on paper and was being lionized as a visionary in glowing media coverage that included a famous a cover story in Forbes magazine and a profile in the New Yorker. Federal prosecutors allege that Holmes used this positive media coverage to lure the investors she is now charged with defrauding.

Theranos’ board members were a virtual political who’s who, including former U.S. Secretaries of State George Schultz and Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and former Defense Secretary and four-star Marine Corps General James Mattis, all of whom sang Holmes’ praises before her fail from grace.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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