Elizabeth Holmes Sentencing: A History of the WSJ Theranos Investigation

Her fall was triggered by Wall Street Journal investigative reporting in 2015 and 2016 that exposed how Theranos’s technology didn’t work, how the blood-testing company tried to cover up its failures and how patients’ lives were affected and their health jeopardized.

Theranos denied the Journal’s reports. The company later voided its patient tests and settled with investors and federal regulators. 

Ms. Holmes was charged in June 2018 with nine criminal counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She denied the charges and was found guilty on three of the fraud counts and one of the conspiracy counts. The company formally dissolved in September 2018.

“I couldn’t say more strongly, the way we handled The Wall Street Journal process was a disaster,” Ms. Holmes testified at her trial last year. “We totally messed it up.”

Here’s a sampling of the exclusive articles the Journal published about Theranos:

Hot Startup Theranos Has Struggled With Its Blood-Test Technology

By John Carreyrou, Oct. 15, 2015

Theranos, a hot blood-testing startup, has struggled behind the scenes to turn the excitement over its technology into reality. The lab instrument developed as the linchpin of its strategy handled just a fraction of the tests then sold to consumers, and questions have been raised about its accuracy.

Theranos Dials Back Lab Tests at FDA’s Behest

By John Carreyrou, Oct. 16, 2015

Under pressure from regulators, laboratory firm Theranos has stopped collecting tiny vials of blood drawn from finger pricks for all but one of its tests, backing away from a method the company has touted as it rose to become one of Silicon Valley’s hottest startups.

Walgreens Scrutinizes Theranos Testing

By Michael Siconolfi, Christopher Weaver and John Carreyrou, Oct. 23, 2015

The

Walgreens

pharmacy chain won’t open any new Theranos blood-testing centers until the startup company resolves questions about its technology, throwing a wrench into the startup’s grand expansion plans.

Safeway, Theranos Split After $350 Million Deal Fizzles

By John Carreyrou, Nov. 10, 2015

Safeway spent about $350 million to build clinics in more than 800 of its supermarkets to offer blood tests by startup Theranos. But the tests never began, the clinics are now used largely for flu shots and travel-related vaccines and the two companies have been negotiating to officially dissolve their partnership.

At Theranos, Many Strategies and Snags

By John Carreyrou, Dec. 27, 2015

Elizabeth Holmes has emphasized a variety of strategies—a hand-held device, tests for drugmakers, drugstore clinics—while trying to turn her dream into a business. She often has collided with technological problems.

Theranos Whistleblower Shook the Company—and His Family

By John Carreyrou, Nov. 16, 2016

Tyler Shultz was among several Theranos employees who voiced concerns inside the company about what they saw as troubling practices and was the first to blow the whistle to a state regulator. He says he wanted to expose the problems to protect the health of patients and that of his grandfather—

George Shultz,

the former secretary of state and Theranos board member.

Agony, Alarm and Anger for People Hurt by Theranos’s Botched Blood Tests

By Christopher Weaver, Oct. 20, 2016

Theranos didn’t just burn investors who bought into its promise to revolutionize the world of blood testing. It also left a trail of agonized patients who had been drawn to Theranos by its claims of convenience, low cost and reliability.

Big Names Take Hit on Theranos

By Christopher Weaver, John Carreyrou and Michael Siconolfi, Nov. 28, 2016

Theranos received much of its funding from high-profile private investors—including

Rupert Murdoch,

executive chairman of

News Corp,

parent of The Wall Street Journal—who weren’t part of the ecosystem that typically backs startups and could see their stakes wiped out by the blood-testing company’s regulatory and technological troubles.

Under Fire, Theranos CEO Stifled Bad News

By John Carreyrou, July 10, 2016

Elizabeth Holmes has continued to put a positive spin on her embattled blood-testing company—while broadly keeping employees in the dark on many issues—even as Theranos’s regulatory and legal troubles mount.

Deficiencies Found at Theranos Lab

By John Carreyrou, Christopher Weaver and Michael Siconolfi, Jan. 24, 2016

U.S. health inspectors from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have found serious deficiencies at Theranos Inc.’s laboratory in Northern California.

Blood Lab Theranos Faces Criminal Probe

By Christopher Weaver, John Carreyrou and Michael Siconolfi, April 18, 2016

Federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into whether Theranos misled investors about the state of its technology and operations.

Theranos Dealt Sharp Blow as Elizabeth Holmes Is Banned From Operating Labs

By John Carreyrou, Michael Siconolfi and Christopher Weaver, July 8, 2016

Silicon Valley startup Theranos is fighting for its life after regulators decided to revoke its license to operate a lab in California because of unsafe practices and to ban founder Elizabeth Holmes from the blood-testing business for at least two years.

Walgreens Terminates Relationship With Blood-Testing Firm Theranos

By Michael Siconolfi, Christopher Weaver and John Carreyrou, June 13, 2016

Drugstore operator Walgreens formally ended a strained alliance with Theranos as regulators near a decision on whether to impose sanctions against the embattled Silicon Valley firm.