{"id":339013,"date":"2017-04-22T03:02:28","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T19:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1479885"},"modified":"2017-04-22T03:02:28","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T19:02:28","slug":"theranos-says-it-has-been-mischaracterized-in-allegations-the-company-faked-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/theranos-says-it-has-been-mischaracterized-in-allegations-the-company-faked-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"Theranos says it has been mischaracterized in allegations the company faked tests"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/09\/elizabeth-holmes4.jpg?w=738\" class=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\">Theranos secretly bought lab equipment through a shell company, faked tests and inappropriately pumped up its financial outlook to investors, according to allegations in recently unsealed court documents, first reported by the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/theranos-secretly-bought-outside-lab-gear-ran-fake-tests-court-filings-1492794470\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> Partner Fund Management LP, a hedge fund management firm which invested $96 million in Theranos filed the claim in Delaware Chancery Court on Monday, which was unsealed Thursday afternoon, laying out exactly what it asserts the once-hailed blood testing company had been doing to deceive the many investors, partners, customers and journalists who\u2019d looked into the company\u2019s affairs.<\/p>\n<p>In the filings, PFM alleges Theranos ran \u201cfake \u2018demonstrations tests\u2019 for prospective investors and business partners\u201d using commercial devices instead of its one-drop blood testing technology.<\/p>\n<p>The 66-page complaint goes on to accuse founder Elizabeth Holmes and former president and COO Ramesh \u201cSunny\u201d Balwani of repeatedly and knowingly lying, \u201cThat, among other things, the company had developed a proprietary technology that worked; the company\u2019s proprietary technology was ready for commercial use to perform nearly all laboratory tests on a few drops of blood drawn from a patient\u2019s finger; and the company was on the cusp of receiving all necessary regulatory clearances and approvals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The allegations are based on the testimony of 22 former employees of the company who were deposed by lawyers of PFM and are part of a follow-up suit to the one the firm filed last October alleging Theranos had misled\u00a0the hedge fund when it convinced it to add funds to the company coffers in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>The new filings are a follow-up to another suit PFM filed earlier this month to block a deal Theranos had offered to investors to take equity, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/03\/23\/theranos-is-offering-investors-elizabeth-holmes-shares-if-they-promise-not-to-sue\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">including some of founder Elizabeth Holmes shares<\/a>\u00a0if they promised not to sue.<\/p>\n<p>PFM and two other investors now say Theranos has been pressuring them to drop the suit, suggesting they should accept more equity or the company would seek Chapter 11 protection, according to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2017-04-19\/theranos-investors-say-they-were-pressured-to-abandon-lawsuit\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Theranos responded to these allegations in a statement on Monday, \u201cThe suit is without merit, the assertions are baseless, and the plaintiff is engaging in revisionist history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The company has since followed up further calling the document a \u201cone-sided filing by one party to litigation\u201d and saying these are \u201cmischaracterizations\u201d it would rather litigate in court than contest now.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the full statement from Theranos:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"30\">\n<p>This is a one-sided filing by one party to litigation, and we will respond at the appropriate time in the appropriate forum.\u00a0We disagree with much of what PFM alleges in its complaint.\u00a0\u00a0This is not, however, the time or place to contest their mischaracterizations of the record.\u00a0\u00a0We will litigate this case in court, where it belongs.\u00a0\u00a0What we will say now is that the items on which PFM focuses have nothing to do with why PFM invested, and\u00a0they\u00a0amount to a repackaging of allegations the media have already reported for nearly two years.<\/p>\n<p>As for the tender offer:\u00a0\u00a0As previously disclosed, Theranos is in the midst of a tender offer involving its most significant shareholders.\u00a0 Elizabeth Holmes\u2019 use of her own shares to recapitalize our C-2 and C-1 investors\u2014and thereby prevent dilution to our other shareholders\u2014is consistent with her longstanding, personal commitment to doing the right thing for the Theranos shareholder base.\u00a0This tender offer has been in discussion between Theranos and its shareholders since July 2016.\u00a0\u00a0To date, more than 99% of C-2 and C-1 investors other than PFM have chosen to participate.<\/p>\n<p>PFM, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund, opposes the transaction, and is asking the Court to stop the tender offer because it is \u201cunfair\u201d specifically and only to PFM. In response\u00a0 to PFM\u2019s suit, the Court suspended the tender offer for a month in order to permit sufficient time for the court to review the transaction.\u00a0\u00a0PFM\u2019s\u00a0effort to enjoin the tender offer\u00a0is meritless; their legal theories are self-serving and would harm the rest of the Theranos shareholders.\u00a0The Company is vigorously opposing PFM\u2019s new suit and looks forward to completing the transaction with its shareholders.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"680\" height=\"453\" src=\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/09\/elizabeth-holmes4.jpg?w=680\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/09\/elizabeth-holmes4.jpg?w=680 680w, https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/09\/elizabeth-holmes4.jpg?w=1360 1360w, https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/09\/elizabeth-holmes4.jpg?w=150 150w, https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/09\/elizabeth-holmes4.jpg?w=300 300w, https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/09\/elizabeth-holmes4.jpg?w=768 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/>&nbsp;Theranos secretly bought lab equipment through a shell company, faked tests and inappropriately pumped up its financial outlook to investors, according to allegations in recently unsealed court documents, first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Partner Fund Management LP, a hedge fund management firm which invested $96 million in Theranos filed the claim in Delaware Chancery Court on&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/04\/21\/theranos-says-it-has-been-mischaractarized-in-allegations-the-company-faked-tests-and-boosted-financials\/?ncid=rss\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=kRDmnd5nBmM:Xd3-rA3pe3A:2mJPEYqXBVI\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?d=2mJPEYqXBVI\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=kRDmnd5nBmM:Xd3-rA3pe3A:7Q72WNTAKBA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?d=7Q72WNTAKBA\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=kRDmnd5nBmM:Xd3-rA3pe3A:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=kRDmnd5nBmM:Xd3-rA3pe3A:-BTjWOF_DHI\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?i=kRDmnd5nBmM:Xd3-rA3pe3A:-BTjWOF_DHI\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=kRDmnd5nBmM:Xd3-rA3pe3A:D7DqB2pKExk\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?i=kRDmnd5nBmM:Xd3-rA3pe3A:D7DqB2pKExk\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=kRDmnd5nBmM:Xd3-rA3pe3A:qj6IDK7rITs\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?d=qj6IDK7rITs\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/Techcrunch\/~4\/kRDmnd5nBmM\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"\/> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5817,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[59,66,26],"class_list":["post-339013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-media","tag-techcrunch","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5817"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339013\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}