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Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes to Go on Trial Next July to Face Fraud Charges in Blood-Testing Startup

Former Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes arrives at the Robert F. Peckham U.S. Federal Court on April 22, 2019, in San Jose, California. (Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Elizabeth Holmes will go on trial next summer to face criminal fraud charges for allegedly defrauding investors, doctors and the public as the head of the once-heralded blood-testing startup Theranos.

U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila ruled Friday that the trial against Holmes and her former Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Balwani will start July 28, 2020.

Prosecutors allege that Holmes and Balwani deliberately misled investors, policymakers and the public about the accuracy of Theranos’ blood-testing technologies.

The two pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Holmes dropped out of Stanford University at 19 to found Theranos, pitching its technology as a cheaper way to run blood tests. The company was at one time worth more than $10 billion and Holmes the youngest self-made female billionaire.

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