Written by By Jessica Leshaw, CNN New York
Elizabeth Holmes and her privately-held company Theranos are facing a number of serious allegations — in June the New York Times reported that the company has up to seven employees possibly involved in an alleged attempt to destroy evidence by tampering with blood tests, and “defrauding its investors, patients and regulators.”
Before all that, the company raised well over $1 billion in funding from investors, according to CNN Money — a significant chunk of which reportedly went to pay for various endeavors Holmes allegedly never completed, such as initiating a pilot for the company’s tech in 2014.
Theranos had faced financial challenges as early as 2013. In 2014, a securities filing mentioned that the company was in discussions with members of the FDA regarding regulations for measuring blood levels. In 2015, the Wall Street Journal published its first story on Theranos and its testing technology, sparking fierce allegations of fraud from prominent figures in the medical field.
In June, regulators from the FDA and Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued subpoenas to the company. The report, obtained by Reuters, said the FDA and MDPH wanted to inspect Theranos’ San Francisco labs for compliance with regulations.
Theranos has admitted to “irregularities” but denied any wrongdoing.
Related: FDA officials investigate Theranos for alleged violations