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Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes charged with $700m fraud | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The founder of a start-up that promised to revolutionise the blood testing industry has agreed to settle charges that she raised more than $700m (£500m) fraudulently. | The founder of a start-up that promised to revolutionise the blood testing industry has agreed to settle charges that she raised more than $700m (£500m) fraudulently. |
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos deceived investors about the firm's technology. | The Securities and Exchange Commission said Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos deceived investors about the firm's technology. |
Ms Holmes will lose control of the firm and be fined $500,000. | Ms Holmes will lose control of the firm and be fined $500,000. |
An SEC official called the fallout an "important lesson for Silicon Valley". | An SEC official called the fallout an "important lesson for Silicon Valley". |
"Innovators who seek to revolutionise and disrupt an industry must tell investors the truth about what their technology can do today - not just what they hope it might do someday," said Jina Choi, director of the SEC's San Francisco regional office. | "Innovators who seek to revolutionise and disrupt an industry must tell investors the truth about what their technology can do today - not just what they hope it might do someday," said Jina Choi, director of the SEC's San Francisco regional office. |
Theranos was founded in 2003 and sought to develop an innovative blood testing device that used a single drop of blood. | |
However, its fortunes waned in 2015 after reports in the Wall Street Journal suggested the devices were flawed and inaccurate. | |
The charges were brought against Theranos and its former president Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani as well as Ms Holmes. | |
The SEC plans to bring a case against Mr Balwani. | The SEC plans to bring a case against Mr Balwani. |
The regulator alleged that Theranos, Ms Holmes and Mr Balwani made a series of false and misleading statements in investor presentations, product demonstrations and interviews. | |
Their actions deceived investors into believing that its key product - a portable blood analyser - could conduct comprehensive blood tests from a drop of blood. | |
The SEC said: "In truth ... Theranos' proprietary analyser could complete only a small number of tests, and the company conducted the vast majority of patient tests on modified and industry-standard commercial analysers manufactured by others." |