Theranos promised lab test results with just a tiny amount of blood collected in minuscule vials called "nanotainers." It raised $700 million and was valued at $9 billion before The WSJ published a piece revealing problems with its proprietary technology's accuracy. Since then, it's been under constant scrutiny from various agencies, including the State Departments of Health in Pennsylvania and Arizona, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA spotted issues with its nanotainers and quality control procedures when it inspected the company's labs in 2015. More recently, reports said the CMS found out that Theranos knew it was sending faulty test results to customers. The agency reportedly wants to ban company founder Elizabeth Holmes and president Sunny Balwani from the blood testing industry for at least two years.

Holmes hopes to save her company from total destruction, though, as evidenced by this part of the letter obtained by Business Insider: