Convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes appeared in court Thursday
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, 38, has filed a request for a new trial after she claimed her former lab director Adam Rosendorff visited her home to raise concerns about testifying against her.
According to court documents, Rosendorff, a key prosecution witness, showed up unannounced at Holmes’ home to admit that his testimony had been twisted by prosecutors.
Tuesday’s filing said Rosendorff told Holmes that “he tried to answer the questions honestly at Mrs. Holmes’ trial, but the government tried to make everyone look bad.”
A lawyer for Holmes has expressed that this disclosure by Rosendorff warrants a new trial and that the court should at least “order an evidentiary hearing and allow Ms. Holmes to bring Dr. subpoena Rosendorff to testify about his concerns”.
Holmes appeared in federal court in San Jose, California last Thursday, where her attorneys argued that no reasonable jury could have found her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt — as 12 jurors found when they convicted her in January.
‘MS. Holmes’ attorney Amy Saharia told the judge, according to Bloomberg, that Holmes did not make any false statements to investors and was not aware that she made any false statements.
Holmes, 38, faces up to 20 years in prison following her conviction on conspiracy and wire fraud charges, and she is currently out on $500,000 bail until next month’s mother-of-one hearing.
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes (center) has appeared in federal court to have her fraud conviction overturned ahead of her sentencing in October
Holmes, seen with her mother, appeared Thursday in federal court in San Jose, California, where her attorneys argued that no reasonable jury could have found her guilty
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes passes through a security checkpoint as she arrives at federal courthouse in San Jose, Calif. Thursday
Accompanied by her parents, she entered the courthouse on Thursday, smiling, wearing a buttoned gray jacket over a simple black dress.
Attempts by her attorneys to have her conviction overturned is a standard step in commercial cases, but it is almost never successful.
Holmes was convicted of duping investors into her $9 billion startup Theranos, which made wild claims of having revolutionized medical testing while relying on existing technology from other vendors.
During the trial, Rosendorff testified that he felt it was necessary to “ring the alarm bells,” adding that it was “important for Elizabeth to be aware of these issues as the company’s CEO.”
At trial, Holmes’ attorneys alleged that she was the innocent pawn of her manipulative and abusive lover and business partner, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, allegations he vehemently denied.
In July, Balwani was found guilty on all 12 counts of defrauding both Theranos investors and patients who had relied on the company’s highly unreliable blood tests, which could have put their health at risk.
Balwani, 57, also faces up to 20 years in prison and $750,000 bail pending his Nov. 15 sentencing hearing.
Holmes is due to be sentenced on October 17.
Holmes smiled as she entered the courthouse to give her final plea in court
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes goes through security as she arrives at federal courthouse
Holmes was beaming as she arrived to try and have her conviction overturned with a Hail Mary
Holmes appeared in federal court in connection with an attempt to overturn her fraud conviction. She faces jail time after being convicted of four counts of fraud
She entered the courthouse accompanied by her parents, smiling and wearing a buttoned gray jacket over a simple black dress
Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the former lover and business partner of Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, is to be seen in July following his conviction on all 12 counts
The double conviction of Holmes and Balwani represented a resounding victory for federal prosecutors, who used the Theranos case as a rare opportunity to hold ambitious entrepreneurs accountable for engaging in technological excesses while chasing fame and fortune strived
In doing so, they hoped to discourage the practice of making bold and unproven promises about nascent products — a startup strategy known as “fake it until you make it.”
While Holmes implied during her trial that Balwani manipulated her into making poor decisions, Balwani’s attorneys specifically attempted to shift all blame for any wrongdoing directly onto Holmes.
As part of Balwani’s defense, attorneys pointed out that Holmes was not only CEO, but also a Silicon Valley star who persuaded investors to put nearly $1 billion into Theranos.
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, center, and her mother, Noel Holmes, left, arrive at federal court in San Jose
During the trial, Holmes’ attorneys claimed she was the innocent pawn of her manipulative and abusive lover and business partner, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani
Holmes was convicted of deceiving investors into her $9 billion startup Theranos
Holmes boasted that her company had found a way to check for hundreds of potential diseases with a device called the Edison, which could test just a few drops of blood drawn with a finger prick.
Such technology could potentially revolutionize healthcare.
But it turns out the Edison never worked properly, producing erroneous test results that Theranos ran as part of a deal to set up mini-labs at Walgreen’s dispensaries.
The flaws in Theranos’ vaunted technology prompted Holmes and Balwani to switch their tests to traditional third-party equipment while simultaneously drawing vials of blood from patients’ veins — a far cry from Holmes’ promise.
