‘The Dropout’ is an American drama miniseries that is based on the real-life story of the biotechnology company Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes. The series is based on the podcast ‘The Dropout’ which is hosted by Rebecca Jarvis and made by ABC News. The show stars Amanda Seyfried and Naveen Andrews in the lead roles of Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani. The show also stars Stephen Fry, Michel Gill, Elizabeth Marvel, Sam Waterson, and William Macy in supporting roles.
The series follows Elizabeth Holmes who runs a successful biotech company Theranos. The show documents the meteoric rise of Theranos and its subsequent rapid fall. The series showcases how Holmes, one of the youngest self-made billionaires at the time scammed the entire world into believing that her company had developed a major breakthrough in medical science. The audience follows as the fraud is exposed and the company crumbles after the truth is unveiled. Read on to find out more about the true story behind the TV show.
Related: ‘The Dropout’: What Happened To Real-Life Theranos Whistleblowers Erika Cheung And Tyler Shultz?
The Real Story Behind ‘The Dropout’
The show ‘The Dropout’ follows Elizabeth Holmes who is a Stanford University student who studies microfluidics. She drops out of college to develop a blood testing method that is much more accessible than the ones available in the world. She wants to revolutionize the world of medical science and thus, sets up a company named as Theranos.
Holmes claims that her company Theranos has developed a blood testing method that utilizes minuscule amounts of blood and can churn out different reports with just a few drops of blood. This announcement leads to a boom in the value of the company. At one point, the valuation of Theranos was estimated to be $9 billion.
While the scientists at her company scrambled around to make the claims into reality, reports about such tech being fake started emerging in the media. In 2015, an article released in a major publication disclosed how claims made by Holmes were fake and the company had committed fraud. The valuation of the company crashed immediately and led to hundreds of people losing their jobs and millions of dollars being wiped off.
In Case You Missed It: ‘The Dropout’: How Elizabeth Holmes Fooled The World With Theranos As Amanda Seyfried Starrer Docudrama Streams On Hulu
How Was Theranos Fraud Uncovered?
The problems first surfaced when Theranos employees Tyler Shultz and Erika Cheung noticed the altered data in the database. The duo was the first to notice that the company was altering data that was being produced by their ‘Edison’ machines to match that of other conventional test methods. But both of them were dismissed by the supervisors.
The credit for the discovery of the Theranos fraud is given to the journalist John Carreyrou from Wall Street Journal. Tyler Shultz provided information and acted as a source for Carreyrou’s article in the Journal. The article alleged that the company was using conventional blood testing devices rather than its own Edison devices. It also alleged that the results of the Edison devices were inaccurate and untrustworthy.
The report caused major waves in the public. Even though Theranos claimed that the report was incorrect and that all the allegations were fabricated, the tide had shifted against them. Walgreens shortly terminated its contract with Theranos and FDA ordered multiple inspections of the company’s labs.
The labs failed most of the inspections and their license was canceled. In addition to that, the company was also hit with multiple lawsuits. Theranos was hit by lawsuits by Walgreens and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. The company laid off almost 90% of its employees and almost went bankrupt. All the happenings are documented in the series ‘The Dropout’.
Where Is Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Now?
After inspections and investigation against Holmes and her partner Sunny Balwani, the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged the duo with nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The show ‘The Dropout’ chronicled the investigation. The trial for the same began in 2021 on August 21.
On January 3, 2022, Holmes was found guilty on three charges of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud for scamming investors on four separate occasions. Holmes was not charged with three charges of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud and was found not guilty of cheating patients on four separate occasions.
On November 18, 2022, Holmes was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in jail along with various fines. Holmes was asked to surrender before April 27, 2023. This was because Holmes is pregnant with her second child as of 2023. The earlier trial was also delayed because of the birth of her first child.
Holmes is also considered a flight risk by the authorities. According to a source, authorities believe Holmes poses a risk, thus, prosecutors want her locked up as soon as possible. Holmes attempted “an effort to depart the nation” in 2022, according to court filings. This has been denied by Holmes’ lawyers. As of March 2023, she hasn’t surrendered yet.
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