Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been jailed for more than 11 years for defrauding investors in her blood-testing startup, which was once worth $9bn (£7.5bn).
The former Silicon Valley star falsely claimed that the technology could diagnose disease with a few drops of blood.
Holmes, 38, who is pregnant, tearfully told the court she felt “deep pain” for those misled by the scandal.
He was found guilty in January after a three-month trial.
Holmes is expected to appeal the sentence, which was handed down Friday in a California court.
Once hailed as “the next Steve Jobs”, she was at one time the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.
He founded Theranos after dropping out of Stanford University at the age of 19, and its value skyrocketed when the company claimed it could revolutionize disease diagnosis.
But the technology that Holmes had discussed didn’t work and – due to lawsuits – the company was dissolved by 2018.
During Holmes’ trial in San Jose, California, prosecutors said he knowingly misled doctors and patients about Theranos’ flagship product – the Edison machine, which the company claimed could be used to collect blood. Cancer, diabetes and other conditions can be detected with just a few drops.
He also accused Holmes of exaggerating the firm’s performance to his financial backers.
Jurors ultimately found him guilty of four counts of fraud, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. But they found him not guilty on four other charges, and failed to reach a verdict on three more.
Before Judge Edward Davila handed down the sentence Friday, Holmes read a speech in court in which he tearfully apologized to investors and patients.
“I am devastated by my failings. I have felt deep pain for what people went through, because I failed them,” she said.
“I regret my failings with every cell of my body,” she continued.
The judge referred to Holmes as a “brilliant” entrepreneur, and told her: “Failure is normal. But failure by fraud is not OK.”
