Founder Elizabeth Holmes began testifying Friday to defend herself against the 11 counts of criminal fraud she faces in connection to the Theranos blood-testing firm she founded as a 19-year-old Stanford dropout.
Until it happened, it was uncertain to outsiders whether Holmes would speak during her trial. Even by Friday afternoon, legal experts stressed it was unlikely, given the risky move that could open her to cross-examination by the prosecution and possibly damage her credibility with the jury.
Holmes said she had been working at Stanford on microfluidics and on diagnostic machines in Singapore and “thought I could combine them and miniaturize some of the tech I had seen in the lab." That led her to file her first patent application in September 2003, before her sophomore year. It was ultimately granted in 2007.
Holmes, 37, left the courtroom holding the hand of her boyfriend, hotel chain heir Billy Evans. The pair had a son, born in July, shortly before the trial was scheduled to begin. Holmes’ defense team also argued that the testimony of Theranos patient Erin Tompkins, who said she received a test incorrectly indicating she was HIV-positive, should be struck as prosecutors did not call her doctor to testify.
The defense called its first witness Friday, a paralegal for the law firm of Williams & Connolly representing Holmes, who was there to introduce several summary exhibits into evidence, such as the number of patents assigned to Theranos, the company’s total customer receipts, and the number of tests Theranos offered.
In 2004, Holmes dropped out of Stanford University at 19 to pursue an idea to invent a microfluidic blood diagnostics system that could quickly perform a multitude of tests on just a finger-prick of blood, instead of the standard venous draws used by commercial labs. After securing investments and media accolades, she became the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire and her company was valued at over $9 billion.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes takes stand to defend herself in fraud caseTheranos founder Elizabeth Holmes took the stand on Friday to defend herself against charges of defrauding investors and patients about the now-defunct blood-testing startup once valued at $9 billion.
Read more »
Elizabeth Holmes Takes Stand In Theranos Criminal Fraud TrialThe former entrepreneur attempted to refute allegations that she bamboozled investors and patients into believing that her startup, Theranos, would reshape health care.
Read more »
Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes surprisingly takes stand at her criminal trialHolmes spoke in court about her time as a student at Stanford University and working with Professor Channing Robertson.
Read more »
Holmes Testimony Starts at the Very Beginning of TheranosOver the course of the criminal trial of Elizabeth Holmes, the prosecution has been seeking to offer crucial testimony that goes to the heart of the government’s fraud case against the Theranos founder. Follow the latest developments.
Read more »
Elizabeth Holmes takes the stand in her criminal trialElizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder and former CEO of Theranos, is taking the stand in her own criminal trial. She began testimony on Friday afternoon and is also expected to testify on Monday and Tuesday next week.
Read more »
Reporter recalls pivotal story in Elizabeth Holmes' stardomSAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The Fortune Magazine reporter whose cover story helped turn Elizabeth Holmes into a Silicon Valley sensation testified Thursday as to how he ended up feeling like a pawn in the entrepreneur's promotion of what she called a revolutionary blood-testing technology.
Read more »