Groundbreaking Week in Healthcare Fraud

September 10, 2021

We talk to you every week about trials and cases that are in our rearview mirror.  Often what we worked on directly.  Sometimes we talk about areas of interest like healthcare cost and changing policy.  Sometimes we bring you best practices based on our clients.  Well, step aside normal headlines.  This week the Berny Madoff of health fraud, Elizabeth Holmes, is having her trial kick off (video). 

Bernard Madoff, the notorious architect of an epic securities Ponzi scheme – the largest in history – burned thousands of investors and is known as an American fraudster and financier.  Not only that, he outfoxed regulators and died earlier this year while serving his 150-year prison term.  Brings us to the question of Ms. Holmes of Theranos. 

Why is Advize writing about this case which is still in its infancy?  Great question – because we are OBSESSED with it! 

Female entrepreneur. Multi-billion dollar start-up. Revolutionize medical testing. Fraud. 

We care less about the lying to investors and more about the patients who were victims of the faulty tests.  The lying to people who received misdiagnoses of cancer, HIV or pregnancy.  Of course wire fraud is terrible and lying to investors unacceptable but lying to patients is unforgivable. We look forward to seeing what is allowed in court regarding patient harm more than just the dollars and cents.

We will wait on the edge of our seats to see what is found admissible.  After getting the trial postponed several times for reasons such as popping out a baby, we are excited to see this case actually get rolling.

Our favorite opening statement was:

“He described Holmes as “all in” on Theranos’ mission of making testing cheaper and more accessible. “She worked herself to the bone for 15 years … She poured her heart and her soul into that effort,” he said. “In the end, Theranos failed and Ms. Holmes walked away with nothing. But failure is not a crime. Trying your hardest and coming up short is not a crime.”

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/08/tech/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-trial-opening-statements/index.html

By: Jeanmarie Loria

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