Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes faced cross-examination this week and emotionally recounted her relationship with former president Sunny Balwani.
Holmes earlier this week testified that Balwani, who is her former romantic partner as well, was sexually and emotionally abusive throughout their relationship from 2009 to 2016. She claimed that Balwani was controlling of her meals and schedule and sexually assaulted her. She also claimed that Balwani told her to rebuild herself and “become a new Elizabeth” to succeed at Theranos, according to multiple news reports. Balwani has denied all allegations.
“He felt like I came across as a little girl and thought I needed to be more serious and more pointed,” Holmes testified, AP reports.
Balwani would allegedly yell at Holmes if she didn’t do what he said and would tell her that he was disappointed with her “mediocrity,” multiple news outlets report.
Holmes recounted during her testimony that she met Balwani while she was still in high school. In an emotional recall, Holmes testified that she was raped at Stanford University, which said was another reason for her to drop out. She said that Balwani allegedly exploited her traumatic experience to control her life.
The prosecution brought into question the over 12,000 text messages documented between Holmes and Balwani during their courtship. Holmes read some of the text messages aloud and assistant U.S. attorney Robert Leach pointed out that of the 12,000 test messages that were filed as evidence, the word “love” appeared 594 times, Ars Technica reports.
Holmes also claimed that Balwani would compare her to a “monkey flying a spaceship” and that Balwani had written strict instructions and a set schedule of times for her to meditate, work out, shower, pray and eat and other tasks throughout her days, according to Business Insider.
Prosecution on the case also cross-examined Holmes in regards to her attempts to kill a Wall Street Journal expose. Holmes acknowledged that she reached out to Rupert Murdoch, the Wall Street Journal’s owner and Theranos investor, to get him to stop the story from publishing, CNN reports. She also testified that Theranos’ legal counsel David Boies had attempted to intervene with the story as well.
“It was part of my effort to get Mr. Murdoch to make sure that our trade secrets were not published,” Holmes testified. “I could not say more strongly the way that we handled the Wall Street Journal process was a total disaster. We really messed up.”
Holmes also expressed remorse during her cross-examination, reflecting that she was too quick to dismiss the concerns of Theranos whistleblowers Erika Cheung and Tyler Shultz, AP reports.
Both Cheung and Shultz resigned from the company after their concerns of inaccurate test results were unheard.
“I sure as hell wished we treated her different and listened to her,” Holmes said.
Holmes claimed Theranos would revolutionize blood testing with technology that could analyze tiny amounts of blood and inked retail partnerships with Walgreens and Safeway. Forbes in 2015 recognized Holmes as America’s richest self-made woman based on Theranos’ multibillion-dollar valuation at the time.
Investigative reporting soon dismantled Holmes’ technological claims, raising questions about whether she and others misled investors. The downward spiral culminated in the 2018 shutdown of the company, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accusing Holmes and former Theranos President and COO Sunny Balwani of a “massive fraud.”
Holmes and Balwani face 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud over allegations that they knowingly misled investors by claiming Theranos technology could revolutionize blood testing.
They have both pleaded not guilty to all charges. Balwani’s trial is expected to follow the Holmes trial.
Read more Elizabeth Holmes trial updates here:
Elizabeth Holmes reportedly expresses remorse in criminal fraud trial
Former Safeway CEO points to red flags in Theranos partnership
Elizabeth Holmes defense attorneys try to blame former Theranos lab director
Former Celgene scientist says partnership with Theranos ended over poor test quality
Former defense chief James Mattis testifies in Elizabeth Holmes federal fraud trial
First Theranos patient takes the stand, defense begins to shift blame onto Sunny Balwani
Theranos whistleblower testifies to blood analyzer inaccuracies in Elizabeth Holmes fraud trial
First witnesses in Elizabeth Holmes federal fraud trial take the stand
Elizabeth Holmes trial opens, accused of ‘lying and cheating’
Jurors selected in Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos fraud trial: start date set
Jury selection for Elizabeth Holmes fraud trial begins today