Flashback: Biden Called Elizabeth Holmes’ Multi-Billion-Dollar Theranos Scam ‘Amazing’

After she was found guilty on Tuesday of four counts of defrauding investors, the downfall of Elizabeth Holmes is complete.

Holmes was the former CEO and founder of Theranos, a failed blood-testing startup, founded in 2003. Theranos was supposed to be revolutionary in disease diagnosis. The company promised that with its new technology, it could test just a few drops of blood and detect conditions such as cancer and diabetes, according to the BBC.

At its peak, Theranos was even valued at $10 billion, Investopedia reported.

Forbes called Holmes “the world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire.” Inc. put her on a list of people who could become the “next Steve Jobs.”

In July of 2015, then-Vice President Joe Biden was another prominent figure to praise Holmes and Theranos.

“Talk about being inspired. This is inspiration. It is amazing to me, Elizabeth, what you’ve been able to do,” Biden said, according to a news release at the time.

There was one problem though. Holmes and Theranos’ president Ramesh Balwani never actually demonstrated the technological breakthrough they kept touting.- READ MORE