Elizabeth Holmes, founder of defunct blood-testing startup Theranos Inc., who was convicted of fraud, has asked a federal judge for a new trial after she said one of the prosecution’s key witnesses visited her home to express his regret at his role to express in their process. after a new court act.
Ms Holmes said in a filing on Tuesday that Adam Rosendorff, a former Theranos lab chief who testified for five days at her criminal fraud trial, showed up unannounced at her home on Aug. 8. During his visit, Dr. Holmes’ partner, saying that the government distorted his statement that Theranos “worked so hard to do something good and worthwhile” and that he felt guilty “to the point that he had trouble sleeping.” according to the court documents.
Ms Holmes argues that the alleged statements made by Dr. Rosendorff to her partner to qualify her for a new trial or hearing to discuss the evidence.
A federal jury convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes on four out of 11 counts. Each charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. WSJ’s Sara Randazzo shares highlights of Ms Holmes’ testimony. Photo: Josh Edelson for The Wall Street Journal
dr Rosendorff declined to comment when reached by phone on Tuesday. A spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California declined to comment.
The filing is the latest twist in a spectacular fraud saga that unfolded in court a year ago and has become one of the most closely watched business cases in Silicon Valley history. Ms Holmes was convicted of four counts of criminal fraud in January for deceiving investors while running a year-long program at Theranos, where she was chief executive. Her former business and love partner, former Theranos President Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, was convicted of 12 counts of fraud in July.
Ms Holmes last week sought an acquittal and during the hearing her legal team said they had newly discovered information that would help her case but no further details. On Tuesday, US District Judge Edward Davila denied the motion for an acquittal. Ms Holmes is due to be sentenced in October, while Mr Balwani is due to be sentenced the following month.
During his visit on August 8th, Dr. Rosendorff not directly with Ms. Holmes, but with her partner Billy Evans, who answered the door, according to Mr. Evans’ account of the exchange, which was filed in court records. dr Rosendorff looked disheveled and his voice trembled as he explained that “he feels guilty,” according to the report. “He said he was in pain,” said Mr. Evans. dr Rosendorff explained that during the trial he “tried to answer the questions honestly” but that the government made things sound worse than they were when he was on the witness stand during his testimony. He said he felt he had done something wrong, according to the report.
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Mrs. Holmes argues that if Dr. Had Rosendorff made such statements in court, it would have significantly strengthened her defense and could have swayed a jury.
The government called 29 witnesses, including other former Theranos lab workers, to testify against Ms. Holmes.
dr Rosendorff, a central government witness in Ms. Holmes’ trial, testified about concerns he brought to her directly about Theranos’ technology and its efforts to delay the use of the company’s blood-testing equipment on real patients. As lab chief from 2013 to 2014, he told the court that he was responsible for responding to complaints from doctors and patients about Theranos’ inaccurate lab tests and that he was pressured to make excuses for the erroneous results that posed the responsibility distracted from Theranos.
On his LinkedIn page, Dr. Rosendorff included a link to a news article from the South African Jewish Report that called him a “medic who helped uncover Theranos.”
dr Rosendorff revealed during the trial that he was a source for the Wall Street Journal’s 2015 coverage of Theranos, before the newspaper published a series of articles revealing that Theranos’ fingerstick lab tests were unreliable and that the company often relied on commercial devices instead, but even those test results could be wrong.
One of Mrs Holmes’ lawyers, Lance Wade, questioned Dr. Rosendorff spent nearly four days in often hostile exchanges, much longer than the government interrogated him. Tuesday’s court filings said Dr. Rosendorff had left a voicemail with Mr. Wade on August 8th requesting a meeting with Ms. Holmes. Mr. Wade didn’t answer anyway until Dr. According to the court documents, Rosendorff drove to her home.
Write to Heather Somerville at [email protected]
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Appeared in the September 7, 2022 print edition as Theranos’ Holmes Seeks New Trial, Cites Witness Take.