Jurors in the Elizabeth Holmes fraud trial were told to work through an impasse in their deliberations after telling a judge they were struggling to reach a consensus on three of the 11 charges against the Theranos Inc. founder.
“We are unable to come to a unanimous verdict on three of the counts,” the 12-member jury said Monday in a note to U.S. District Judge Edward Davila that was read out in a California court. It’s not clear which counts the jury is unable to reach agreement on. A unanimous verdict is required to convict or acquit Holmes, 37.
The judge asked the jury, which is in its seventh full day of deliberations, to keep going. He said his instructions were “not meant to rush you or pressure you on agreeing on a verdict” and “there is no hurry.” The jurors sat through the three-month trial and heard from dozens of witnesses in the case.
The panel of eight men and four women must decide whether Holmes is guilty of fraud and conspiracy charges filed in 2018, the same year that her blood-testing startup collapsed after previously reaching a valuation of $9 billion. Holmes is facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Holmes didn’t say anything as she left the courthouse in downtown San Jose.
Among the charges are wire fraud and conspiracy against Theranos investors, as well as patients who relied on the company’s blood-testing machines.
