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Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Appears in San Jose Court in Fraud Case

Theranos had promised it would revolutionize health care with cost transparency and blood-testing technology that would require less blood. But the company never actually had such technology, investigators said

Once the darling of Silicon Valley, Elizabeth Holmes, founder of failed startup Theranos, was in court Monday, now a suspected felon.

In one of the most high profile cases in the country, Holmes is accused of scamming people with her Palo Alto-based blood-testing startup. The 35-year-old was in federal court in San Jose, where the judge proposed a trial date of July 8. But a date was not set, and another status hearing was scheduled for July 1.

Holmes and Theranos Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Balwani are accused of swindling investors, doctors and patients out of millions of dollars.

Theranos had promised it would revolutionize health care with cost transparency and blood-testing technology that would require less blood. But the company never actually had such technology, investigators said.

Sporting black turtlenecks and Stanford-dropout bragging rights, Holmes was touted as the "next Steve Jobs," and Theranos was at one point valued at more than $9 billion.

If convicted, Holmes and Balwani could face sentences that would keep them behind bars for the rest of their lives and total fines of $2.75 million each.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

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