The founder of startup Theranos, who promised to revolutionize blood testing and was convicted of fraud, requested a new trial on Tuesday, citing the revocation of a key witness. Convicted in January by a jury in a federal court in San José (California), Elizabeth Holmes must, in the state, see her sentence pronounced on September 26. She faces 20 years in prison for each of the four charges against her.
In a letter sent Tuesday to federal judge Edward Dávila, who presided over the 15-week trial between early September and late December 2021, Elizabeth Holmes’ attorneys indicate that she received a visit from the former director in early August. Theranos Laboratory, Adam Rosendorff. The latter did not see the 38-year-old businesswoman but she spoke with her companion, William Evans, who recounted the conversation to the lawyers.
“Everyone was working hard”
According to him, the investigator explained that he wanted to “honestly answer the questions” asked during the trial, but the prosecutors had “tried to present everyone [les anciens de Theranos] in a bad light.” “He said the Crown had presented things more negatively than reality during his hearing,” continued William Evans. He notably disputed the notion that Elizabeth Holmes had deliberately tried to mislead investors about the results. and Theranos prospects.
“Everyone was working hard to achieve something good and meaningful,” Adam Rosendorff insisted, according to Elizabeth Holmes’ partner. The doctor believes that he “made a mistake” and says that he wants to “help” his former boss.
For Elizabeth Holmes’ lawyers, Adam Rosendorff’s intervention justifies holding a new trial, in particular because he “presented false testimony to the jury”. If the judge refused to order a new trial based solely on these new elements, the defense requests, at a minimum, a new hearing of Adam Rosendorff to clarify the content of his statements.
a house of cards
Elizabeth Holmes has become one of the symbols of the excesses of Silicon Valley culture. She had founded Theranos in 2003, when she was only 19 years old, and promised faster and cheaper diagnostic tools than those of traditional laboratories. Her charisma and self-confidence, in addition to being a rare woman in a predominantly male world, had allowed her to attract celebrities and high-profile investors to the bedside of a company that would turn out to be a house of cards, unable to produce results. conclusive.
Source: BFM TV
