Smelling blood: Trial of Theranos founder Holmes gets under way

Prosecutors accused Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes of ‘lying and cheating’ as opening statements got under way in her highly-anticipated fraud trial.

Opening statements got under way in the highly anticipated $9bn fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, with prosecutors portraying her as a liar and her defence team insisting she was merely a hardworking biotech boss whose once-hyped blood-testing startup had failed. Holmes, 37, has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy. She could face 20 years in prison if convicted. She is accused of making false claims about the now-defunct Theranos, including technologies it was developing that it claimed could test for hundreds of diseases by extracting only a few drops of blood from a finger prick.