Elizabeth Holmes, center, leaves federal court in San Jose, California, on Nov. 22. The one-time medical entrepreneur is now accused of building a fraudulent company based on promises of a technology. revolutionary returned to the witness stand on Monday.
Nic Coury / AP
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Nic Coury / AP
Elizabeth Holmes, center, leaves federal court in San Jose, California, on Nov. 22. The one-time medical entrepreneur is now accused of building a fraudulent company based on promises of a technology. revolutionary returned to the witness stand on Monday.
Nic Coury / AP
Elizabeth Holmes was a victim of sexual abuse and was regularly scolded by her former romantic and business partner when she ran the blood testing company Theranos, she testified before a jury in her fraud trial mine on Monday.
Sometimes, the former Theranos executive dabbed her in the eyes with a tissue and hesitantly told witnesses that Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani – the company’s No. 2 chief executive – had controlled her by disparaging her. and forced her to have sex with him. .
In the court papers, her attorney argued that the alleged abuse hindered Holmes’ ability to think clearly during his time in charge by federal prosecutors.
Balwani, who has also been charged with fraud and faces trial in January, has denied the charges through his attorney.
“He told me that I didn’t know what I was doing in business, that my convictions were false, that he was surprised at my mediocrity,” Holmes said in the fourth day of the statement. declare.
Holmes touched on how she was raped as a student at Stanford that forced her to drop out of school. For her, the best way to handle the trauma was to make Theranos her tireless passion and obsession, she told the jury.
Not long after she left Stanford, now 37 years old began a romantic relationship with Balwani, who was almost 20 years older than her.
Over time, Holmes said she realized she was being manipulated and abused by Balwani. He once told her she had to be “more like a man if I wanted to do business,” she testified.
Holmes told the jury that Balwani wanted her to “kill old Elizabeth,” which she said meant “killing” someone who could never succeed in life or business.
“He taught me everything I thought I knew about business, and he was the best businessman I knew,” said Holmes. “I didn’t ask him the way I would.”
Explosive charges against Balwani were expected, since unsealed legal documents in August, describes a pattern of physical and emotional abuse Holmes is said to have endured during his nearly decade-long romantic relationship with Balwani.
But the second represents An incredible turning point in the trial, the first time that charges will be heard directly by a jury that will determine her fate.
Federal prosecutors charged Holmes with 11 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the collapse of biotech startup Theranos. Once valued at $9 billion for its promise to revolutionize healthcare, the company has faced scrutiny from the media and government regulators.
Elizabeth Holmes entered the San Jose courthouse to continue her testimony today. We are still live. But the passing of prosecutors will eventually get underway. pic.twitter.com/5VcLzIJixv
– Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) November 29, 2021
Based on Indictment against Holmes and Balwani, two who defraud investors and patients by making false claims about the health of their businesses and the capabilities of blood-testing technology.
Holmes stood on the witness stand as the most anticipated testimony of the 13-week trial.
Convincing the jury to agree that Holmes acted on purpose would be key to securing a conviction. But she spent days in the witness stand trying to prove otherwise.
She suggested that other Theranos employees, including laboratory scientists and Balwani, closest to some of the more difficult aspects of the company.
However, Holmes did admit in earlier testimony that she herself added pharmaceutical company logos to documents sent to potential business partners and investors to endorse Theranos’ technology, despite her claims. though never authorized by the company. It was an unwise move, Holmes admits, which she now regrets.
On Monday, Holmes told the jury that around May 2016 Balwani left Theranos, at which point Holmes severed a romantic relationship with him and moved out of the home they shared.
Holmes testified: “He was not who I thought he was. “And I realized that if I was going to fix its problems and see the company through to its potential, I had to do it at the company without him.”
Federal prosecutors will cross-examine Holmes on Tuesday.
