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Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes faces 20 years in prison after being accused of lying to investors and patients about the capabilities of his company’s blood testing machines and the company’s financial situation.
Prosecutors called former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis as a witness to Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes, trying to prove that he was deceived in many ways-as a soldier, as a member of the company’s board of directors, and as an investment By.
The retired four-star general testified on Wednesday that he admired Holmes and began to believe her promise that Silicon Valley startups would completely change blood testing, but was disappointed when the company eventually closed down when the shortcomings of Theranos technology were revealed.
“It’s a certain time when I don’t know how to trust Theranos,” he said.
He said that early enthusiasm prompted him to join the company’s board of directors crowded with other celebrities and put his $85,000 into Theranos because he wanted to get some “skins” in the game.
A prosecutor asked him whether his investment losses were “significant”. All in all, Holmes is accused of defrauding more than 700 million U.S. dollars from investors in Theranos. The company’s valuation reached 9 billion U.S. dollars before media exposure and regulatory investigations turned the company into virtual rubble.
“For someone who has served in the government for 40 years, yes,” Mattis said.
When asked how he made investment choices, Mattis said Holmes was his “only source” of information.
Mattis, who led the armed forces under the leadership of former President Donald Trump, is one of several well-known witnesses expected to be summoned by the government for the trial of Holmes. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Henry Kissinger) is also a member of Theranos’ board of directors, and he may also testify in court.
Mattis told the jurors from the beginning that when Holmes first saw her about ten years ago, before he joined the board of directors, he gave the impression of “sharp, expressive, and loyal.”
Holmes is accused of lying to investors and patients about the capabilities of Theranos machine and the company’s financial situation. If convicted, he will face up to 20 years in prison. She has pleaded not guilty.
Mattis recalled that his first contact with Holmes was in San Francisco in 2011 or 2012. When Holmes pricked his finger for a blood test, “I was giving a speech in the background,” he said. “I believe that was the first time I saw the machine, a box-like device,” Matisse testified.
The general said that Theranos’s use of compact equipment to completely change the goal of blood testing is attractive for military applications.
Mattis said: “I prefer to drop a drop of blood to test various problems in remote areas.” “If it can do what she says she can,” it may be the most helpful for diversion.
The prosecutor told the jury at the beginning of the trial that Holmes had put forward “grand propositions” on how Theranos machines would be installed on helicopters around the world starting in 2009, and the company would soon realize hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
Matisse said that he never knew that Theranos analyzer was used in soldiers or the army, during his service or on the board of Theranos.
“I don’t know,” he said repeatedly when questioned by the prosecutor.
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