EXPLAINER: Why Elizabeth Holmes' trial hinges on intent

The high-profile trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes boils down to a single question: Did she cover up defects in her startup’s blood-testing technology to rip off investors while potentially endangering the lives of unwitting patients

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The high-profile trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes boils down to a single question: Did she cover up defects in her startup's blood-testing technology to rip off investors while potentially endangering the lives of unwitting patients?

Federal prosecutors charged Holmes, 37, with 11 felony counts of fraud and conspiracy in 2018 after Theranos collapsed under the weight of her bogus boasts about its technological prowess. She repeatedly claimed that Theranos had a new way to scan for hundreds of diseases and health problems using just a few drops of blood taken with a finger prick.

That would have been a dramatic change from the conventional method of drawing vials of blood via needles inserted into patients' veins, then shipping them off to be tested by Quest Diagnostics or Labcorp -- a process that could take days.

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