San Francisco, California – Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the Theranos company that promised highly effective blood tests, has been found guilty on four of 11 counts of defrauding investors of millions of dollars.

Holmes (37) secured almost a billion dollars after launching the start-up that pledged to be able to carry out a comprehensive analysis by using just a few drops of a patient's blood.

She has consistently rejected the charges.

Holmes, who gave birth before the trial began almost four months ago and is not being held in custody, will be able to appeal against the conviction and any sentence imposed by the court.

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The offenses carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but observers believe that the judge, Edward Davila, is likely to impose a considerably shorter term, given that Holmes does not have previous convictions.

Theranos promised to radically change blood testing and saw its value soar to up to $9 billion on that basis. The promised technology would have been able to run hundreds of tests on a few drops of blood.

The bubble burst due to a whistleblower and persistent investigative reporting, initially by the Wall Street Journal.

Some observers saw the scandal as epitomizing the negative aspects of Silicon Valley's hype culture.