The jury returned a guilty verdict on four counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud against investors in the blood-testing company, after four months of trial.
The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on three of the counts, which were related to wire fraud in December. There are still verdicts pending.
The jury found him guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud, but not guilty of one conspiracy count and three counts of wire fraud.
The federal government had charged him with 11 counts, including two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud. The company's loss of $945 million was caused by the misrepresentations made by the company's founder, ElizabethHolmes, to investors.
The company's failure was not on trial. The government had to prove that the investors were tricked into giving Theranos money. Some of the most compelling pieces of evidence used to bolster this argument were the partnerships and endorsements that were added to investor documents. She tried to control both the press narrative and the whistle blowers. Audio and video were also present.
The defense only had three witnesses. She said that she lied to herself because she got bad information from other Theranos employees. On her final day on the stand, she testified that she was in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship with her ex-boyfriend, and that one facet of that abuse was his control over her behavior. Balwani is accused of fraud in 2022.
The government's version of events won out. The pending verdicts on the three deadlocked charges will likely be appealed.
The chapter of the Theranos story is closed for now.
This is not a finished story.
