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Theranos aftermath

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Re: Theranos aftermath

#26

Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

Interrupting someone's sleep is all too common in DA. Theranos is smart enough to research DA and spout its symptoms. I'm not persuaded. :nope:
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#27

Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/el ... uxbndlbing
Elizabeth Holmes trial: Loving texts from Holmes to ‘abuser’ Balwani as they hunted leakers

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who has accused her fallen startup’s president of coercing and abusing her amid their long love affair, sent him adoring text messages as the pair hunted leakers ahead of a damning media exposé, a court filing this week revealed.

“You are breeze in desert for me,” (sic) said one text from Holmes to Sunny Balwani released by federal government lawyers prosecuting her fraud trial in U.S. District Court in San Jose. “My water. And ocean. Meant to be only together tiger.” Another text from Holmes to Balwani said, “Madly in love with you and your strength.”

The loving texts came in 2015, a few months before the 12-year-old Palo Alto blood-testing startup would be rocked by a Wall Street Journal report questioning its technology. Holmes and Balwani appear in the messages to be responding to inquiries made by Journal reporter John Carreyrou.

Seconds after an exchange that saw Holmes tell Balwani, “Missing you” and Balwani responding, “Missing u too,” Balwani tells her he’s narrowed down the pool of potential leakers in Theranos’ laboratory to five people. “Will nail this mother (expletive),” Balwani wrote.

The text messages show Holmes and Balwani identifying three people they believed were leaking information, including employees Tyler Shultz — the grandson of the late U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz — and Erika Cheung, both of whom were later revealed to be whistleblower sources for Carreyrou. Prosecutors also filed documents indicating Theranos made $150,000 in payments to private investigators soon after the messages about Shultz and Cheung, to pay for what Theranos called the “E. Cheung & T. Shultz project.”
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#28

Post by LM K »

The jury began deliberating this morning late yesterday.

There is a tremendous amount of evidence for the jury to review. A verdict will take some time. The trial lasted for 3 months.

I do believe Holmes is headed to prison.

Holmes gave birth in July. Who has a baby when facing 20 years in prison?
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#29

Post by LM K »

Elizabeth Holmes' fraud case is now in the jury's hands
The jury that will weigh 11 charges of fraud and conspiracy against former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes finally got the case Friday afternoon after a three-month trial that captivated Silicon Valley.

The hand-off came after lawyers for the opposing sides wrapped up a second day of painstaking final arguments to sum up their respective interpretations of the evidence submitted to the jury. That included the testimony of 32 witnesses — including Holmes herself — and more than 900 exhibits.
:snippity:

In his final attempt to persuade the jury to acquit, Holmes lawyer Kevin Downey likened her final days running a then-reeling Theranos to a captain valiantly trying to save a sinking ship.

Had Holmes committed any crimes, she would have been scurrying to jump overboard like a scared rat, Downey, told jurors as he wrapped up roughly five hours of closing arguments. Federal prosecutors spent three hours Thursday explaining why the jury should convict her.
:snippity:

As he did Thursday, Downey again depicted Holmes as a well-meaning entrepreneur who never stopped trying to perfect Theranos' blood-testing technology and use it to improve health care.

Federal prosecutor John Bostic offered a rebuttal, arguing that Holmes made her attempts to salvage Theranos under intense scrutiny that gave her few other options. He cited evidence to argue that she consistently sought to deceive people whenever she thought she could get away with her alleged ruse.
:snippity:

After the flaws were exposed in 2015 and 2016, Theranos eventually collapsed. The Justice Department filed its criminal case in 2018.

"People lost money," Downey acknowledged Friday. "That is a bad event and a failure on (Holmes') part." But, he added, none of it was criminal.
:snippity:

Had Holmes thought any crimes been committed, Downey posited, she would have tried to cover them up and perhaps sell some of her stock. Not only did she never sell a share, Downey said, she continued to try to salvage the company. Her turnaround efforts included ousting Theranos' chief operating officer, Sunny Balwani, who also had been her lover.

In a dramatic turn on the witness stand last month, Holmes testified that Balwani had been covertly controlling her diet, her friendships and more while subjecting her to mental, emotional and sexual abuse. Although the testimony cast Holmes as Balwani's pawn, Downey never mentioned the alleged abuse and its effects on Holmes during his closing arguments.

The jury has been left to consider whether partner abuse may have affected some of her decisions at Theranos. In the prosecution's closing argument, Schenk reminded the jurors that finding Holmes guilty of fraud won't mean they discounted her abuse allegations.

Bostic revisited the issue Friday, telling the jurors they shouldn't allow sympathy to sway their decision on the fraud charges. "There is an extensive record for the charges of fraud in this case," he said. "There is much less evidence of what happened between Miss Holmes and Mr. Balwani."

:snippity:
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#30

Post by Gregg »

LM K wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 5:03 pm The jury began deliberating this morning late yesterday.

There is a tremendous amount of evidence for the jury to review. A verdict will take some time. The trial lasted for 3 months.

I do believe Holmes is headed to prison.

Holmes gave birth in July. Who has a baby when facing 20 years in prison?
Someone who's jury consultant said it might sway a juror on a sympathy vote to acquit.
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#31

Post by LM K »

Gregg wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 8:55 pm
LM K wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 5:03 pm The jury began deliberating this morning late yesterday.

There is a tremendous amount of evidence for the jury to review. A verdict will take some time. The trial lasted for 3 months.

I do believe Holmes is headed to prison.

Holmes gave birth in July. Who has a baby when facing 20 years in prison?
Someone who's jury consultant said it might sway a juror on a sympathy vote to acquit.
: yeahthat:

I hope that's not why she had her baby. But she's a freaking psychopath, so she is capable of such a disgusting thing.

I think info about her infant will be lost as jurors reevaluate evidence.
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#32

Post by Foggy »

LM K wrote: Sat Dec 18, 2021 5:03 pm Who has a baby when facing 20 years in prison?
It's not about the baby.

Narrator: It should always be about the baby. :|
Out from under. :thumbsup:
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#33

Post by Gregg »

The baby will be up for adoption a week after the verdict is read.
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#34

Post by LM K »

Gregg wrote: Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:08 pm The baby will be up for adoption a week after the verdict is read.
Her partner, Billy Evans, is stinkin' rich.

Holmes is 37. Her baby clock was/is ticking. Normal women wouldn't risk leaving a child motherless even if their baby clock was ticking. But Holmes is not a normal woman.
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#35

Post by Gregg »

Not the joke about adoption, but I totally believe that jury impact was at least part of why she decided to have the baby. She is that much of a sociopath. She's so...something... that its creepy.
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#36

Post by Foggy »

Ol' Wifehorn and I adopted one boy when we were 46 and another when we were 49.

Those are a couple of fine young men now. She is, and was, an awesome mom, starting that late.
Out from under. :thumbsup:
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#37

Post by Phoenix520 »

Me, too, 46.

Wifehorn IS an awesome Mom to her three boys! :mrgreen:
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#38

Post by Foggy »

Yeah, umm ... wait a minnit ... :confuzzled:
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#39

Post by pipistrelle »

LM K wrote: Sun Dec 19, 2021 6:11 pm
Gregg wrote: Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:08 pm The baby will be up for adoption a week after the verdict is read.
Her partner, Billy Evans, is stinkin' rich.
Thanks. Interesting snark about them here. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainm ... -theranos/
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#40

Post by pipistrelle »

Weird story linked from that one about his dad at her trial.

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Re: Theranos aftermath

#41

Post by LM K »

Elizabeth Holmes Trial: Jury says it is deadlocked on three counts
The jury tasked with determining the fate of Elizabeth Holmes, the former CEO and founder of failed blood testing startup Theranos in her criminal trial, said that it is unable to come to a unanimous verdict on three of the eleven counts.

A jury of eight men and four women was in its seventh day of deliberations when it returned a note indicating they are at a standstill and cannot reach a unanimous verdict on all counts. The jury did not indicate on which counts they were unable to reach a verdict.

In response, Judge Edward Davila who is presiding over the case, issued what's known as an Allen charge, instructing them to continue deliberating to try to reach a verdict.

Before jurors were brought in to be read the additional instructions, Judge Davila raised the possibility of a partial verdict should the jurors remain conflicted on returning verdicts for any of the counts. In addition to reading the instruction to continue deliberations, the judge also read aloud a portion of the original jury instructions pertaining to Holmes' presumed innocence "unless or until the government proves her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

"The jury can render a verdict on counts they are unanimous on and then the government will determine whether to retry the case on the counts they are deadlocked on,"
said George Demos, a former Securities and Exchange Commission prosecutor and adjunct law professor at the UC Davis School of Law

Holmes, once hailed as a visionary and the next Steve Jobs, faces nine counts of federal wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud over allegations she lied to investors, doctors and patients about her company's blood testing capabilities for financial gain.
:snippity:

Federal prosecutors called 29 witnesses to testify, including ex-Theranos employees, retail executives and a former US Defense Secretary. Through their testimony, the government attempted to unravel the complicated web of alleged deception that it claims misled investors and patients into believing the company was accurately, reliably, and efficiently performing a range of blood tests using just a few drops of blood taken from a finger prick with its proprietary technology.

The defense called three witnesses, culminating with lengthy testimony from Holmes herself.

Over the course of roughly 24 hours on the stand, spread out across seven court days, Holmes acknowledged some of the government's points but maintained that she never intended to deceive anyone. At times, she expressed some contrition. She also deflected blame onto others -- most notably, her ex-boyfriend, Theranos' former president and chief operating officer Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani. (Balwani faces the same charges as Holmes and is set to be tried early next year. He has pleaded not guilty.)

Holmes alleged that she was the victim of a decade-long abusive relationship with Balwani, who she testified sought to control nearly every aspect of her life, claiming it would help her succeed in the business world. Balwani previously denied the abuse allegations in court filings.
:snippity:
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#42

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“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#43

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“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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Re: Theranos aftermath

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“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#45

Post by chancery »


Anyway, if you're wondering, my very rough and inadequately informed back-of-the-envelope calculation is that Holmes' recommended sentence under the guidelines will be between 15 and 20 years. That's not binding on the judge, of course.
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#46

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Re: Theranos aftermath

#47

Post by chancery »

:popcorn:

Somehow I missed the fact that Elizabeth Holmes's father, Christian Holmes, was an Enron vice president. That doesn't mean that he was in on Enron's various frauds (it was a big company; I have a family member, an engineer, who worked for Enron for four or five years), but I note that Holmes's biography at the Boston Consulting Group doesn't mention his time at Enron.
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#48

Post by northland10 »

Initially I started with this:
► Show Spoiler
However, after consulting a magic 8 ball, some Tarot cards, my favorite Ouija board, I was directed to this in the guidelines.
2. Application of Subsection (a)(1).—
(C) Base Offense Level Determination for Cases Involving Multiple Counts.—In a case involving multiple counts sentenced under this guideline, the applicable base offense level is determined by the count of conviction that provides the highest statutory maximum term of imprisonment.
This would mean Count 7, 108-135 months would be the only base level. I assume various additions could move it up to 20 years.

Popehat might be wrong on this, or I got something wrong (which would be expected).
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#49

Post by chancery »

Northland, IANACrL, but I did a couple of instructive dives into the Federal Sentencing Guidelines during the Bundy fiasco. Treating Count 7 as the baseline offense doesn't mean that the sentence is the maximum provided for the that offense. It's just the start of the calculation, and if that's all there is, it's not necessarily a severe sentence.

Here's the beginning of the analysis by Mitchell Epner (@MitchellEpner) that was mentioned by Popehat in a tweet that Bob posted upthread:

https://mitchellepner.substack.com/p/el ... medium=web
Today, Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty on four out of the eleven counts against her. As I will set forth below, she is likely to face a presumptive sentence of 65 years imprisonment under the United States Sentencing Guidelines. Judge Edward Davila will have the authority to depart from that presumptive sentence, but I would be surprised if Judge Holmes significantly departed from that sentence because Elizabeth Holmes committed trial perjury.

The Counts Of Conviction Provide For A 65 Year Maximum Sentence

The four counts on which Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty were:

Count 1 - Conspiracy To Commit Wire Fraud - Section 371 - Five year maximum;

Count 6 - Wire Fraud in the amount of $38.3 million - Section 1343 - Twenty year maximum;

Count 7 - Wire Fraud in the amount of $100 million - Section 1343 - Twenty year maximum; and

Count 8 - Wire Fraud in the amount of $6 million - Section 1343 - Twenty year maximum.

Simply adding 5 + 20 + 20 + 20 = 65 years statutory maximum. Ordinarily, the statutory maximum does not tell the sentence that the defendant is likely to get in federal court, because sentencing is conducted by reference to the United States Sentencing Guidelines. The Sentencing Guidelines usually call for a sentence far below the stacked statutory maximums. Here, as I set forth below, the Sentencing Guidelines call for “life,” which means that the 65 year statutory maximum sets the maximum sentence that can be imposed.

The Sentencing Guidelines Call For “Life”

The relevant Guideline to start determining Elizabeth Holmes’ sentence is Section 2B1.1, which covers fraud-based crimes.

Under Section 2B1.1(a), the Base Offense Level is 7, because the offense of conviction carries “a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years or more”.
Interrupting Epner's analysis with a comment. If you look at the sentencing table, which is here: https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/file ... _Table.pdf

you'll see that for someone with no criminal record, the guideline range for Base Offense Level 7 is 0-6 years. So far, not so bad for Holmes. But that's just the start of the calculation, and it gets very, very bad for her. I won't quote the rest of Epner's analysis, you can read it at the link.
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Re: Theranos aftermath

#50

Post by filly »

OMG reading the Tax Code is easier!

Interesting concept about "trial perjury."
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