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Erika Cheung, who raised issues about how the company conducted its blood tests, spent three days on the stand in the trial of Elizabeth Holmes.
By Erin Woo and Erin Griffith
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Erika Cheung, a key whistle-blower in the fraud trial of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the failed blood-testing start-up Theranos, wrapped up her testimony on Friday after saying the company had put a priority on speed over accuracy in its blood tests and answering hours of questions by the defense.
Over three days of testimony, Ms. Cheung, a former Theranos employee, detailed how some of the processes the company used to conduct its blood tests were problematic. While the defense sought to show that Theranos’s procedures were rigorous and complex, Ms. Cheung said on Friday that its priority was to conduct tests as quickly as possible and that its machines often failed their quality-control checks.
Ms. Cheung said Theranos’s blood tests might have been cheaper than other tests, but that did not mean “you should give people false information about their health status.”
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Ms. Cheung was a high-profile witness for the federal government, which is trying to make the case that Ms. Holmes intentionally misled investors, doctors and patients about how well Theranos’s blood testing technology worked. The company, once held up as a Silicon Valley success story with Ms. Holmes its shining star, collapsed in 2018. Ms. Holmes, 37, faces 12 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and has pleaded not guilty.
Ms. Cheung, who worked as a lab assistant at Theranos for several months in 2013 and 2014 before reporting lab testing problems to federal agents in 2015, testified this week that she had concerns about how the company deleted outliers in its data to ensure that its devices passed quality-control tests. She said her concerns had begun about a month into her employment.
Who’s Who in the Elizabeth Holmes Trial
Who’s Who in the Elizabeth Holmes Trial
Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of the blood testing start-up Theranos, was found guilty of four of 11 charges of fraud.
Here are some key figures in the case →
Who’s Who in the Elizabeth Holmes Trial
Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 as a 19-year-old Stanford dropout. She raised $945 million and was crowned the world’s youngest billionaire, but was accused of lying about how well Theranos’s technology worked. She pleaded not guilty.
Who’s Who in the Elizabeth Holmes Trial
Ramesh Balwani, known as Sunny, was Theranos’s president and chief operating officer from 2009 through 2016 and was in a romantic relationship with Holmes. He has been accused of fraud and may stand trial next year. He has pleaded not guilty.
Who’s Who in the Elizabeth Holmes Trial
David Boies, a prominent litigator, represented Theranos as its lawyer and served on its board.
He tried to shut down whistle-blowers and reporters who questioned the company’s business practices.
Who’s Who in the Elizabeth Holmes Trial
The journalist John Carreyrou wrote stories exposing fraudulent practices at Theranos.
His coverage for The Wall Street Journal helped lead to the implosion of Theranos.
Who’s Who in the Elizabeth Holmes Trial
Tyler Shultz and Erika Cheung are former Theranos employees and were whistle-blowers. They worked at the start-up in 2013 and 2014. Shultz is a grandson of George Shultz, a former secretary of state who was on the Theranos board.
Who’s Who in the Elizabeth Holmes Trial
James Mattis, a retired four-star general, was a member of Theranos’s board.
He went on to serve as President Donald J. Trump’s secretary of defense.
Who’s Who in the Elizabeth Holmes Trial
Edward Davila, a federal judge for the Northern District of California, will oversee the case.
Kevin Downey, a partner at the Washington law firm Williams & Connolly, is the lead lawyer for Holmes.
Robert Leach, an assistant United States attorney for the Northern District of California, will lead the prosecution for the government, along with other prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office.
Read more about Elizabeth Holmes:
- They Still Live in the Shadow of Theranos’s Elizabeth Holmes
- Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Indicted on Fraud Charges
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