The Theranos Trial Is Set to Begin Today

The blockbuster trial of Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos’ founder and former CEO, begins Wednesday in a tale that has spawned a book, a documentary, a miniseries and a coming movie — and put Silicon Valley itself on trial.
The elements of captivation for, of all things, a high-tech blood-testing startup are clear. It is rare for a CEO — let alone a former billionaire female CEO — to face trial and 20 years in jail. The case has already been marked by head-turning, last-minute revelations and allegations. And Holmes’ meteoric rise to black-turtlenecked cover girl and media darling is matched only by her catastrophic fall from grace.
At the heart of the matter are thousands of patients whom Holmes and Theranos are accused of defrauding: a mother misled about her pregnancy, a patient told to stop taking heart medication, and patients who received false HIV-positive results.