San José (United States) (AFP)

Elizabeth Holmes, a former Silicon Valley star who promised to revolutionize blood testing with her start-up Theranos, attended the San José court on Tuesday at the jury selection to determine whether she was guilty of massive fraud .

Dressed in black - her color and that of her idol Steve Jobs, the late founder and boss of Apple - she took her place in the California court where her trial could last up to four months.

Elizabeth Holmes started Theranos in 2003, aged 19.

The company planned to produce diagnostic tools on a large scale that were faster and cheaper than those in traditional laboratories, using methods that were supposed to allow up to 200 analyzes from a few drops of blood.

But the machines never worked.

And according to the prosecution, the ex-entrepreneur lied to investors, doctors and patients to raise funds - more than 700 million dollars in all.

She faces up to 20 years in prison for the eleven charges against her - nine of fraud and two for criminal conspiracy.

Prosecutors believe that she got along with Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, her former COO - and her lover for a time.

The two leaders are to be judged separately.

"The accused is presumed innocent. It is up to the state to prove the reality of these charges beyond any possible doubt," Judge Edward Davila told potential jurors.

- Without prejudice?

-

The days of Tuesday and Wednesday must be devoted to the selection of twelve of them.

The debates will get to the heart of the matter on September 7.

Defense lawyer Kevin Downey intends to choose people who have not closely followed the case relayed in detail by the press since its revelation by the Wall Street Journal in late 2015.

John Cline (second from left), lawyer for Elizabeth Holmes, patient in court in san Jose before jury selection Nick Otto AFP

But Tuesday morning, most of those summoned mentioned having read a headline or an article, seen a documentary or even read a book on the subject, like that of John Carreyrou, a former journalist for the American financial daily.

The judge asked them each if they thought they could assess the facts without bias.

They assured that yes.

In matters of evidence, however, the jury will have to rely primarily on testimony.

The Theranos lab database was indeed handed over to the government on a hard drive in August 2018, but the company was subsequently dismantled, along with its servers, making the copy impossible to read.

On the list of potential witnesses, we find well-known names, such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Defense Minister James Mattis, who served on Theranos' board of directors, or the tycoon. from the media Rupert Murdoch.

- A first for Silicon Valley -

Patients who were victims of faulty analyzes could also be called to the bar, to tell how they experienced bad diagnoses of cancer, AIDS or even pregnancies.

Elizabeth Holmes herself could decide to speak.

According to legal documents, she plans to plead that her partner and ex-boyfriend, 19 years older, was controlling and psychologically abusing her.

Elizabeth Holmes in front of the cameras Tuesday, August 31 at the court of San Jose Nick Otto AFP

But for John Carreyrou, "from all the interviews I've done for my book and podcast, it's clear that they were running this business - and the possible fraud they're accused of - as a couple of partners ", he declared at the beginning of July to the American channel CNBC.

Elizabeth Holmes experienced a fall all the more brutal as her fortune was estimated at 3.6 billion dollars by Forbes in 2014. She was then the youngest billionaire who did not inherit her fortune.

"Until now, Silicon Valley has never paid for all its misdeeds," commented AFP Vivek Wadhwa, former professor at Harvard law school and expert on the Theranos saga.

“So the fact that she could end up in jail makes it a very important matter, because it has never happened before. No one has gone to jail for the damage done by technology. And this technology has caused damage. wrongs. "

The trial has been delayed several times, in particular because the defendant gave birth in early July.

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