- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
Elizabeth Holmes—the disgraced and incarcerated founder of the infamous blood-testing startup Theranos—is barred from participating in federal health programs for nine decades, according to an announcement from the health department Friday.
The exclusion means that Holmes is barred from receiving payments from federal health programs for services or products, which significantly restricts her ability to work in the health care sector. It also prevents her from participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs. With a 90-year term, the exclusion is lifelong for Holmes, who is currently 39.
The exclusion was announced by Inspector General Christi Grimm of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General.
Holmes is serving an 11-year, three-month sentence for defrauding investors of her blood-testing startup, Theranos, which she founded in 2003. At the time, Holmes claimed to have developed proprietary technology that could perform hundreds of medical tests using just a small drop of blood from a finger prick. The remarkable claim helped her drive the company’s valuation to a stunning $9 billion in 2014, and set up lucrative partnerships. But, in reality, the technology never worked. The company collapsed in 2018, and she was convicted of fraud in 2022.
I honestly believe that this (what she did) happens all of the time. But she was too young, too female, to get away with it.
I suspect we won’t see any more consequences in the future for most people. I’d love to be proven wrong.
I’d bet it’s more she went the silicon valley route and banked on the tech avenue/public bragging to make money. The others fly under the radar.
Definitely.
Echoes of Martha Stewart.
The combination of these two usually makes it easier to get away with things
Hmmm