Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes arrives at San Jose court over alleged fraud.
Elizabeth Holmes, founder of now-defunct tech startup Theranos, was scheduled to appear in court in San Jose, California, on Monday, for a hearing pertaining to her fraud case.
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Holmes’ lawyers are attempting to have her case thrown out ahead of her trial date scheduled for this summer.
According to motion to dismiss papers filed in court, Holmes lawyers argue the “bare-bones” indictment is “ambitious in scope but short on details,” and that Holmes “doesn’t know what she’s defending against.”
At a minimum, Holmes’ lawyers have argued that the court should order a bill of particulars, which would inform the defendant of the nature of the charges against her.
ELIZABETH HOLMES’ MOTION TO DISMISS PATIENT-RELATED CHARGES TO BE HEARD MONDAY
THERANOS FOUNDER ELIZABETH HOLMES IN COURT; ANATOMY OF A FRAUD
Holmes, and former Theranos President Sunny Balwani, whom Holmes also dated, were indicted by a grand jury in June.
A trial date has been set for Aug. 4, 2020. Lawyers said the trial is likely to last about three months, and the judge tried to pick a date that didn’t interfere with any major holidays.
If convicted, Holmes could face as many as two decades in prison, though she has denied any wrongdoing.
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Holmes has been charged with felony conspiracy and “massive fraud,” after allegedly misleading patients, health care professionals and investors about the blood-testing technology being developed by Theranos.
In 2018, Holmes and Balwani agreed to a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which alleges that they committed a “massive fraud” in lying about one of the company’s key products.
In addition, Holmes was stripped of control of the company and barred from serving as an officer or director at any public company for the next decade, according to the SEC. She was forced to return to investors 18.9 million shares, which the SEC said were obtained through fraud, and pay a $500,000 penalty.
Holmes and Balwani were charged with raising more than $700 million from investors through a fraudulent scheme that took place over the course of years. The SEC accused them of making misleading statements during investor presentations and product demonstrations about a machine that can test and process small samples of blood.
Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 as a privately held health care technology company in Silicon Valley. Theranos’ demise was chronicled by Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyou in his book “Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup.”
