[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] The trial of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the bio-venture 'Theranos,' who was once called the youngest millionaire and the 'female Steve Jobs,' is expected to be postponed once again. Previously, her trial had been delayed three times due to COVID-19.
On the 12th (local time), major foreign media reported that Holmes' defense attorney, along with the prosecution, submitted documents to the San Jose District Court in California requesting to postpone the trial originally scheduled to start on July 13 to six weeks later, on August 31.
The defense and prosecution cited the reason for the delay as "Holmes is currently pregnant and is expected to give birth in July." Foreign media predicted that "the criminal trial against Holmes is almost certain to be postponed."
Meanwhile, Holmes is a female CEO who rose as a legend in the bio-venture industry in 2014 and was selected as the world's youngest billionaire. Holmes, founder and former CEO of the bio-venture 'Theranos,' entered Stanford University’s chemistry department early as a presidential scholar but dropped out in her sophomore year, making headlines for her rare background of founding a bio company.
She then invented the 'Edison' kit, which claimed to diagnose over 260 diseases with just a few drops of blood taken from a fingertip, quickly attracting public attention. Frequently wearing turtlenecks, saying "I don't want to worry about what to wear in the morning to focus on work," various media dubbed her with nicknames such as 'the female Steve Jobs has appeared,' 'self-made blonde beauty entrepreneur,' and 'bio-venture Cinderella,' drawing attention to her.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, venture capital magnate Tim Draper, and others invested large sums in her business, and former Secretary of State George Shultz was recruited as a board member, leading to the business flourishing. In May 2015, Forbes ranked her as the number one 'self-made woman in America.'
A book about the 'Theranos' case, called the biggest fraud in the history of Silicon Valley, USA. Photo by Yonhap News
However, her 'long tail' was exposed by a Wall Street Journal reporter. The reporter revealed that the 'Edison' could actually diagnose only 15 items, had not undergone FDA inspection, and Holmes had manipulated samples arbitrarily to cover up problems that occurred during testing.
As all her claims were exposed as fraud, investors withdrew their investments and sued Holmes and Theranos for fraud. Theranos was delisted from the stock market, and the company's value dropped to zero dollars. Additionally, after being investigated by prosecutors on charges including fraud, Holmes was banned from the industry for 10 years by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In June 2018, prosecutors indicted Holmes and her ex-boyfriend, Ramesh Sunny Balwani, former COO of Theranos, for committing fraud against investors and patients.
Both currently plead not guilty.
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