---

Theranos founder Holmes convicted of fraud

The founder of blood-testing company Theranos has been convicted of defrauding investors after a months-long landmark trial in California.

Prosecutors had argued that Elizabeth Holmes knowingly lied about technology she said could detect diseases with a few drops of blood.

Jurors found Holmes guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud against investors, and three charges of wire fraud, according to a BBC report. In the US, wire fraud is a wide-ranging federal crime that involves using electronic communications for financial fraud.

She denied the charges, which carry a maximum prison term of 20 years each.

High-profile investors

Holmes was not taken into custody, with no date confirmed yet for sentencing, and a further hearing scheduled next week.

Theranos, at one point valued at $9 billion (£6.5bn), had claimed it could revolutionise the healthcare industry with a test that could detect conditions such as cancer and diabetes with only a few drops of blood.

It raised hundreds of millions of dollars from high-profile investors – including media magnate Rupert Murdoch and tech mogul Larry Ellison.

In 2015, however, a Wall Street Journal investigation reported that its core technology did not work.