Mrs Holmes took the stand and closed the hearing. Finished seven days of testimony, oscillating between accepting responsibility for certain missteps and blaming colleagues for other issues.
He said he believes Theranos’ tests are working and is relying on the expertise of the more qualified people who run the company’s lab. And he used his charisma to sell the jurors with the same vision of the future that helped him win over investors, world leaders and the press years ago.
“I wanted to talk about what this company could do one year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now,” Ms. Holmes said. “I wanted to talk about what’s possible.”
Ms. Roth said Holmes’ assertion that his optimistic forecasts were no different from those of other Silicon Valley companies contradicted government evidence that was consistent with traditional fraud cases.
“If other founders and executives are involved in the kind of hoaxes alleged in this case and proven by substantial evidence, they should be concerned.”
Most strikingly, Miss Holmes Accused Mr. Balwani of emotional and sexual harassment. The couple secretly dated for over a decade, even owning a property in Atherton, California together. Ms. Holmes said Mr. Balwani, who is about 20 years older than her, controls every aspect of her life, including her schedule, presentation of herself and time spent with her family. She also accused him of forcing her to have sex with him. Mr. Balwani denied the allegations.
This tearful statement threatened to turn the situation against the prosecutor’s case by appealing to the jury’s feelings and portraying Ms. Holmes as a victim. But it was a risky strategy, experts saidespecially since Ms Holmes has not provided an expert witness to bring her charges in the context of the electronic fraud charges.
Mr. Balwani, known as Sunny, will be put on trial next year. He also pleaded not guilty.
