Elizabeth Holmes has defended herself against charges of fraud

Former US blood test entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes on trial for fraud has defended herself against prosecution charges of fraud. The 37-year-old said on Friday before the competent court in San José, California, to advance her blood test company Theranos. "I started talking to my parents. They allowed me to use the money I had saved for college to work on my patent. Then I went out to raise or borrow money." , said Holmes of starting the company when she was 19 in 2003. Even after dropping out of Stanford University in 2004, she spent “all of her time” doing research for her blood tests. This presentation blatantly contradicts the prosecution's assessment, which Holmes accuses of having deliberately deceived investors, doctors and patients with the promise of a revolutionary technology for fast and inexpensive blood tests. If convicted of fraud or conspiracy to commit fraud, she faces a long prison sentence. The fact that the defendant took herself to the stand poses great risks for her. The prosecution now has the opportunity to highlight possible inconsistencies in Holmes' court testimony to previous public statements. Holmes' attorneys argue that her client made "mistakes" without intent. They only tried to implement a vision, but failed. The fraud trial against Holmes began in September. Since then, more than two dozen witnesses have testified in court. The self-made billionaire was celebrated as a pioneer for years, and in addition to the later Defense Secretary James Mattis, she was also able to win ex-Foreign Minister Henry Kissinger for the board of directors of her company. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch also invested in her company. However, it later became apparent that her blood testing machines were not working at all.