在創(chuàng)始人伊麗莎白·霍姆斯(Elizabeth Holmes)的努力下,血液檢測(cè)公司Theranos作為一家初創(chuàng)企業(yè),市值曾達(dá)到90億美元。但隨著霍姆斯的刑事判決公布,判其犯有詐騙罪,公司也在丑聞中倒閉了。
在加州的圣何塞,陪審團(tuán)經(jīng)過(guò)三個(gè)月的證詞聽取后做出了判決。這些證詞大部分來(lái)自霍姆斯本人,具有很高的技術(shù)性和爭(zhēng)議性,達(dá)到令人震驚的程度。除非霍姆斯提出上訴,推翻該判決,否則37歲的她將面臨長(zhǎng)達(dá)20年的監(jiān)禁。然而霍姆斯初為人母,最終刑期可能會(huì)遠(yuǎn)低于20年。
在法庭上,霍姆斯和其他人一樣,都戴著口罩。宣讀判決時(shí),她一動(dòng)不動(dòng)地站著。當(dāng)法官詢問(wèn)陪審團(tuán)意見(jiàn),是否同意該判決時(shí),霍姆斯直直地盯著各位陪審員。
從著名CEO到重罪犯,霍姆斯大起大落的人生經(jīng)歷是硅谷有史以來(lái)最傳奇的故事之一。經(jīng)過(guò)7天的審議,陪審團(tuán)于周一與檢察官達(dá)成一致意見(jiàn),認(rèn)為在Theranos血液分析儀的準(zhǔn)確性和功能性方面,霍姆斯多年來(lái)一直在對(duì)患者和投資者說(shuō)謊。霍姆斯被指控犯有兩項(xiàng)共謀電信欺詐和九項(xiàng)電信欺詐罪,本次判決對(duì)其中四項(xiàng)罪名進(jìn)行了認(rèn)定。然而,陪審團(tuán)也稱無(wú)法就此11項(xiàng)指控中的三項(xiàng)達(dá)成一致裁決。
為開辦企業(yè),霍姆斯曾從斯坦福大學(xué)中途輟學(xué)。若干名證人對(duì)陪審員表示,他們都受到了霍姆斯的嚴(yán)重誤導(dǎo)。這些證人中包括美國(guó)連鎖藥店沃爾格林(Walgreens)和薩夫威公司(Safeway Inc.)的高管、曾在Theranos董事會(huì)任職的美國(guó)前國(guó)防部長(zhǎng)詹姆斯·馬蒂斯(James Mattis),以及多位向該企業(yè)投入數(shù)億美元的投資者顧問(wèn)。
陪審團(tuán)由八名男性和四名女性組成,幾名Theranos前員工對(duì)陪審團(tuán)繪聲繪色地講述道,為掩蓋血液分析儀的缺陷,該公司的實(shí)驗(yàn)室不惜鋌而走險(xiǎn)。一些患者也告知陪審團(tuán),他們收到的檢測(cè)結(jié)果不準(zhǔn)確,導(dǎo)致對(duì)自己的健康狀況感到非常焦慮。
Theranos公司的命運(yùn)取決于其特色和誠(chéng)信,霍姆斯也一樣。她的辯護(hù)是否能成功,取決于她的個(gè)人魅力和可信度。她兵行險(xiǎn)著,提出自辯,這在白領(lǐng)刑事案件中并不常見(jiàn)。
對(duì)霍姆斯的審判歷時(shí)很久,她提出自辨,讓自己有了最終發(fā)言權(quán),并對(duì)在其前發(fā)言的數(shù)十名政府證人的證詞進(jìn)行了削弱。但是,在艱辛的質(zhì)證過(guò)程中,她也不得不做出一些供認(rèn),令自己感到很是不適。
霍姆斯在證人席上站了7天,時(shí)而推卸責(zé)任,時(shí)而聲稱忘事,時(shí)而表示可以為自己的錯(cuò)誤承擔(dān)責(zé)任。同時(shí),她堅(jiān)稱自己無(wú)意欺騙任何人。
法庭上最令人震驚的時(shí)刻是:霍姆斯在證言中說(shuō),她在斯坦福大學(xué)讀書時(shí)被強(qiáng)奸,并多年遭受其前男友,即Theranos前總裁拉梅什·“桑尼”·巴爾瓦尼(Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani)的語(yǔ)言暴力和性虐待。
根據(jù)霍姆斯的說(shuō)法,她與巴爾瓦尼的關(guān)系持續(xù)了長(zhǎng)達(dá)十年,期間她一直受其虐待,對(duì)她的生活產(chǎn)生了不可估量的負(fù)面影響。然而,她的法律團(tuán)隊(duì)決定,不予傳喚評(píng)估感情創(chuàng)傷方面的精神科醫(yī)生出庭作證,從而陪審員也無(wú)法決定是否要將該證詞納入影響判決的考慮范圍內(nèi)。
一名檢察官在結(jié)案陳詞中向陪審團(tuán)表示,霍姆斯所謂的虐待與其被指控的欺詐行為無(wú)關(guān)。
美國(guó)助理檢察官杰夫·申克(Jeff Schenk)說(shuō),無(wú)論陪審團(tuán)判定霍姆斯有罪與否, 關(guān)于虐待行為,“都并不意味著我們不相信霍姆斯女士”。“是否存在虐待行為與本次判決無(wú)關(guān),”他說(shuō)。
霍姆斯的辯護(hù)團(tuán)隊(duì)試圖說(shuō)服陪審團(tuán),稱在過(guò)去15年里,她想帶領(lǐng)Theranos取得成功,并付諸極大努力,不應(yīng)因?yàn)閴?mèng)想未能實(shí)現(xiàn)而遭到懲罰。
“伊麗莎白·霍姆斯是在做生意,不是在犯罪,”律師凱文·唐尼(Kevin Downey)對(duì)陪審員陳述道。
霍姆斯曾放話說(shuō),會(huì)給醫(yī)療行業(yè)帶來(lái)革命性的變化,因而聲名大振。她聲稱,與傳統(tǒng)的大型機(jī)器相比,小巧的Theranos設(shè)備可以更快更準(zhǔn)確地進(jìn)行數(shù)百項(xiàng)診斷測(cè)試,而且成本也會(huì)更低。
Theranos血液分析儀的一個(gè)主要賣點(diǎn)是,可以通過(guò)針刺取血而非試劑瓶抽血來(lái)得出檢測(cè)結(jié)果。霍姆斯說(shuō),這項(xiàng)發(fā)明的靈感來(lái)源是她個(gè)人對(duì)針頭的恐懼。以上就是多年來(lái)她推廣這項(xiàng)技術(shù)時(shí)對(duì)投資者和公眾使用的部分話術(shù)。
整個(gè)審判過(guò)程中,霍姆斯通過(guò)新聞媒體發(fā)表的若干次聲明反復(fù)成為關(guān)注焦點(diǎn)。其實(shí),檢察官在11月中旬傳喚前《財(cái)富》雜志記者羅杰?帕洛夫(Roger Parloff)出庭作證,就已結(jié)束審理。2014年,帕洛夫?qū)懥艘黄敦?cái)富》雜志封面報(bào)道,幫Theranos公司在全國(guó)范圍內(nèi)引起了關(guān)注。一年后,在Theranos被指控欺騙患者和投資者后,帕洛夫?qū)懥艘环菡J(rèn)錯(cuò)書,揭露該公司如何對(duì)他進(jìn)行了誤導(dǎo)。在法庭作證時(shí),帕洛夫描述了,在Theranos血液檢測(cè)技術(shù)的有效性方面,霍姆斯是如何欺騙自己的。
2015年,霍姆斯被《福布斯》雜志評(píng)為最年輕的女性白手起家億萬(wàn)富豪。但就在同年,《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》發(fā)表文章指出,Theranos的技術(shù)存在缺陷。隨后次年,監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)得出結(jié)論,認(rèn)為這種儀器會(huì)對(duì)使用者的健康構(gòu)成威脅。
對(duì)Theranos進(jìn)行的種種揭露也引發(fā)了民事訴訟。霍姆斯與美國(guó)證券交易委員會(huì)已達(dá)成和解,但仍面臨司法部的調(diào)查和起訴。在亞利桑那州,也有一場(chǎng)訴訟,甚至還未結(jié)案:在沃爾格林藥店購(gòu)買血液檢測(cè)儀器的多名顧客對(duì)霍姆斯、巴爾瓦尼和沃爾格林連鎖藥店提出指控,質(zhì)疑其檢測(cè)結(jié)果不準(zhǔn)確。
今年2月,巴爾瓦尼將面臨和霍姆斯同樣的欺詐指控,并接受單獨(dú)審判。巴爾瓦尼聲稱自己無(wú)罪,同時(shí)也對(duì)霍姆斯提出的虐待指控表示否認(rèn)。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
在創(chuàng)始人伊麗莎白·霍姆斯(Elizabeth Holmes)的努力下,血液檢測(cè)公司Theranos作為一家初創(chuàng)企業(yè),市值曾達(dá)到90億美元。但隨著霍姆斯的刑事判決公布,判其犯有詐騙罪,公司也在丑聞中倒閉了。
在加州的圣何塞,陪審團(tuán)經(jīng)過(guò)三個(gè)月的證詞聽取后做出了判決。這些證詞大部分來(lái)自霍姆斯本人,具有很高的技術(shù)性和爭(zhēng)議性,達(dá)到令人震驚的程度。除非霍姆斯提出上訴,推翻該判決,否則37歲的她將面臨長(zhǎng)達(dá)20年的監(jiān)禁。然而霍姆斯初為人母,最終刑期可能會(huì)遠(yuǎn)低于20年。
在法庭上,霍姆斯和其他人一樣,都戴著口罩。宣讀判決時(shí),她一動(dòng)不動(dòng)地站著。當(dāng)法官詢問(wèn)陪審團(tuán)意見(jiàn),是否同意該判決時(shí),霍姆斯直直地盯著各位陪審員。
從著名CEO到重罪犯,霍姆斯大起大落的人生經(jīng)歷是硅谷有史以來(lái)最傳奇的故事之一。經(jīng)過(guò)7天的審議,陪審團(tuán)于周一與檢察官達(dá)成一致意見(jiàn),認(rèn)為在Theranos血液分析儀的準(zhǔn)確性和功能性方面,霍姆斯多年來(lái)一直在對(duì)患者和投資者說(shuō)謊。霍姆斯被指控犯有兩項(xiàng)共謀電信欺詐和九項(xiàng)電信欺詐罪,本次判決對(duì)其中四項(xiàng)罪名進(jìn)行了認(rèn)定。然而,陪審團(tuán)也稱無(wú)法就此11項(xiàng)指控中的三項(xiàng)達(dá)成一致裁決。
為開辦企業(yè),霍姆斯曾從斯坦福大學(xué)中途輟學(xué)。若干名證人對(duì)陪審員表示,他們都受到了霍姆斯的嚴(yán)重誤導(dǎo)。這些證人中包括美國(guó)連鎖藥店沃爾格林(Walgreens)和薩夫威公司(Safeway Inc.)的高管、曾在Theranos董事會(huì)任職的美國(guó)前國(guó)防部長(zhǎng)詹姆斯·馬蒂斯(James Mattis),以及多位向該企業(yè)投入數(shù)億美元的投資者顧問(wèn)。
陪審團(tuán)由八名男性和四名女性組成,幾名Theranos前員工對(duì)陪審團(tuán)繪聲繪色地講述道,為掩蓋血液分析儀的缺陷,該公司的實(shí)驗(yàn)室不惜鋌而走險(xiǎn)。一些患者也告知陪審團(tuán),他們收到的檢測(cè)結(jié)果不準(zhǔn)確,導(dǎo)致對(duì)自己的健康狀況感到非常焦慮。
Theranos公司的命運(yùn)取決于其特色和誠(chéng)信,霍姆斯也一樣。她的辯護(hù)是否能成功,取決于她的個(gè)人魅力和可信度。她兵行險(xiǎn)著,提出自辯,這在白領(lǐng)刑事案件中并不常見(jiàn)。
對(duì)霍姆斯的審判歷時(shí)很久,她提出自辨,讓自己有了最終發(fā)言權(quán),并對(duì)在其前發(fā)言的數(shù)十名政府證人的證詞進(jìn)行了削弱。但是,在艱辛的質(zhì)證過(guò)程中,她也不得不做出一些供認(rèn),令自己感到很是不適。
霍姆斯在證人席上站了7天,時(shí)而推卸責(zé)任,時(shí)而聲稱忘事,時(shí)而表示可以為自己的錯(cuò)誤承擔(dān)責(zé)任。同時(shí),她堅(jiān)稱自己無(wú)意欺騙任何人。
法庭上最令人震驚的時(shí)刻是:霍姆斯在證言中說(shuō),她在斯坦福大學(xué)讀書時(shí)被強(qiáng)奸,并多年遭受其前男友,即Theranos前總裁拉梅什·“桑尼”·巴爾瓦尼(Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani)的語(yǔ)言暴力和性虐待。
根據(jù)霍姆斯的說(shuō)法,她與巴爾瓦尼的關(guān)系持續(xù)了長(zhǎng)達(dá)十年,期間她一直受其虐待,對(duì)她的生活產(chǎn)生了不可估量的負(fù)面影響。然而,她的法律團(tuán)隊(duì)決定,不予傳喚評(píng)估感情創(chuàng)傷方面的精神科醫(yī)生出庭作證,從而陪審員也無(wú)法決定是否要將該證詞納入影響判決的考慮范圍內(nèi)。
一名檢察官在結(jié)案陳詞中向陪審團(tuán)表示,霍姆斯所謂的虐待與其被指控的欺詐行為無(wú)關(guān)。
美國(guó)助理檢察官杰夫·申克(Jeff Schenk)說(shuō),無(wú)論陪審團(tuán)判定霍姆斯有罪與否, 關(guān)于虐待行為,“都并不意味著我們不相信霍姆斯女士”。“是否存在虐待行為與本次判決無(wú)關(guān),”他說(shuō)。
霍姆斯的辯護(hù)團(tuán)隊(duì)試圖說(shuō)服陪審團(tuán),稱在過(guò)去15年里,她想帶領(lǐng)Theranos取得成功,并付諸極大努力,不應(yīng)因?yàn)閴?mèng)想未能實(shí)現(xiàn)而遭到懲罰。
“伊麗莎白·霍姆斯是在做生意,不是在犯罪,”律師凱文·唐尼(Kevin Downey)對(duì)陪審員陳述道。
霍姆斯曾放話說(shuō),會(huì)給醫(yī)療行業(yè)帶來(lái)革命性的變化,因而聲名大振。她聲稱,與傳統(tǒng)的大型機(jī)器相比,小巧的Theranos設(shè)備可以更快更準(zhǔn)確地進(jìn)行數(shù)百項(xiàng)診斷測(cè)試,而且成本也會(huì)更低。
Theranos血液分析儀的一個(gè)主要賣點(diǎn)是,可以通過(guò)針刺取血而非試劑瓶抽血來(lái)得出檢測(cè)結(jié)果。霍姆斯說(shuō),這項(xiàng)發(fā)明的靈感來(lái)源是她個(gè)人對(duì)針頭的恐懼。以上就是多年來(lái)她推廣這項(xiàng)技術(shù)時(shí)對(duì)投資者和公眾使用的部分話術(shù)。
整個(gè)審判過(guò)程中,霍姆斯通過(guò)新聞媒體發(fā)表的若干次聲明反復(fù)成為關(guān)注焦點(diǎn)。其實(shí),檢察官在11月中旬傳喚前《財(cái)富》雜志記者羅杰?帕洛夫(Roger Parloff)出庭作證,就已結(jié)束審理。2014年,帕洛夫?qū)懥艘黄敦?cái)富》雜志封面報(bào)道,幫Theranos公司在全國(guó)范圍內(nèi)引起了關(guān)注。一年后,在Theranos被指控欺騙患者和投資者后,帕洛夫?qū)懥艘环菡J(rèn)錯(cuò)書,揭露該公司如何對(duì)他進(jìn)行了誤導(dǎo)。在法庭作證時(shí),帕洛夫描述了,在Theranos血液檢測(cè)技術(shù)的有效性方面,霍姆斯是如何欺騙自己的。
2015年,霍姆斯被《福布斯》雜志評(píng)為最年輕的女性白手起家億萬(wàn)富豪。但就在同年,《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》發(fā)表文章指出,Theranos的技術(shù)存在缺陷。隨后次年,監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)得出結(jié)論,認(rèn)為這種儀器會(huì)對(duì)使用者的健康構(gòu)成威脅。
對(duì)Theranos進(jìn)行的種種揭露也引發(fā)了民事訴訟。霍姆斯與美國(guó)證券交易委員會(huì)已達(dá)成和解,但仍面臨司法部的調(diào)查和起訴。在亞利桑那州,也有一場(chǎng)訴訟,甚至還未結(jié)案:在沃爾格林藥店購(gòu)買血液檢測(cè)儀器的多名顧客對(duì)霍姆斯、巴爾瓦尼和沃爾格林連鎖藥店提出指控,質(zhì)疑其檢測(cè)結(jié)果不準(zhǔn)確。
今年2月,巴爾瓦尼將面臨和霍姆斯同樣的欺詐指控,并接受單獨(dú)審判。巴爾瓦尼聲稱自己無(wú)罪,同時(shí)也對(duì)霍姆斯提出的虐待指控表示否認(rèn)。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of criminal fraud after she built her blood-testing startup Theranos into a $9 billion company only to see it collapse in scandal.
A jury in San Jose, California, returned the verdict after hearing three months of testimony that was often technical, heavily contested and, from Holmes herself, shocking. Unless the decision is overturned on appeal, the 37-year-old new mother faces as long as 20 years in prison, though she’s likely to be sentenced to far less than that.
Holmes, wearing a mask in the courtroom as everyone else did, stayed perfectly still and upright while the verdict was read. She looked directly at the jury as they were polled by the judge to determine if the verdict matched their conclusions.
Holmes’s fall from her status as celebrity chief executive to convicted felon marks one of the most dramatic descents in Silicon Valley history. After deliberating for seven days, jurors agreed Monday with prosecutors that Holmes lied to patients and investors over several years about the accuracy and capabilities of Theranos blood analyzers. Holmes was convicted of four out of 11 counts of conspiracy and wire fraud. The jury didn’t reach a verdict on three of the counts.
A parade of witnesses told jurors they were gravely misled by the Stanford University dropout-turned-entrepreneur. They ranged from executives at Walgreens and Safeway Inc. to James Mattis, the former U.S. secretary of defense who served on the Theranos board, as well as advisers to investors who poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the company.
The panel of eight men and four women also heard colorful accounts from several Theranos employees about the company’s lab taking dangerous shortcuts to conceal shortcomings with the analyzers, and from patients who recounted receiving inaccurate test results that left them anxious about their health.
As was the case with the fate of Theranos itself, Holmes’s defense was tethered to her charisma and credibility. She made the risky decision, unusual in white-collar criminal cases, to testify in her own defense.
The move gave Holmes the final voice in the long trial -- and served to dampen the testimony of dozens of government witnesses before her -- but also forced her to make uncomfortable admissions during a grueling cross-examination.
In seven days on the witness stand, Holmes alternated between deflecting blame, failing to remember certain events and accepting responsibility for mistakes, even while insisting she didn’t intend to deceive anyone.
The most jolting moments in the courtroom were when Holmes testified she was raped as a student at Stanford University and suffered years of verbal and sexual abuse from her former boyfriend, former Theranos President Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani.
By Holmes’s account, the abuse lasted throughout the decade-long relationship with Balwani and had a profound if incalculable influence on her life. Her legal team’s decision not to call a psychiatrist with an expertise in relationship trauma as a witness left it up to jurors how to factor the testimony into their decision.
A prosecutor told the jury in closing arguments that the alleged abuse isn’t relevant to the fraud Holmes was charged with.
Whether jurors find Holmes guilty or not guilty, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Schenk said, “you are not saying we do not believe Ms. Holmes” about the abuse. “You do not need to decide whether that abuse happened.”
Holmes’s defense team tried to convince the jury that she made a sincere effort over 15 years to steer Theranos to success and shouldn’t be punished for failing to achieve her dream.
“Elizabeth Holmes was building a business and not a criminal enterprise,” attorney Kevin Downey told jurors.
Holmes rose to prominence with her promise of a revolution in health care, based on her claims the compact Theranos devices could perform hundreds of diagnostic tests faster, more accurately and cheaper than traditional, bigger machines.
A big selling point was that Theranos analyzers could arrive at the results with just a pinprick instead of vials of drawn blood. Holmes cited her own fear of needles as inspiration for the invention, part of the narrative investors and the public heard over years in her promotion of the technology.
Claims that Holmes made to the news media were a recurring focus throughout Holmes's trial. Indeed, prosecutors wrapped up their case in mid-November by calling former Fortune reporter Roger Parloff as a witness. Parloff wrote a 2014 Fortune cover story that helped draw national attention to Theranos. A year later, after Theranos was accused of deceiving patients and investors, Parloff wrote a mea culpa about how the company had misled him. On the witness stand, Parloff described how Holmes lied to him about the effectiveness of Theranos's blood-testing technology.
By 2015 Holmes was dubbed by Forbes as the youngest female self-made billionaire. But that same year, the Wall Street Journal published stories pointing to flaws in Theranos technology, which led regulators the following year to conclude the machines posed a danger to patient health.
The revelations triggered civil lawsuits, including one Holmes settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Justice Department’s investigation and prosecution. Holmes, Balwani and Walgreens all still face claims over inaccurate blood tests by customers of the drug store chain in an Arizona lawsuit.
Balwani, who faces a separate trial in February on the same fraud charges as Holmes, has pleaded not guilty and has denied her abuse allegations.