Elizabeth Holmes testifies on alleged abuse of Romesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani: NPR

Elizabeth Holmes has been sexually abused and has been regularly verbally reprimanded by her former romantic and business partner while running blood testing company Theranos, she told the jury during her fraud trial on Monday.

At times, the former CEO of Theranos dabbed his eyes with a tissue and hesitantly told the witness stand that Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani – the No. 2 director of the company – was in control. on her by denigrating her and forcing her to have sex with him. .

In court documents, his attorneys argued that the alleged abuse hampered Holmes’ ability to think clearly during crimes charged by federal prosecutors.

Balwani, who is also charged with fraud and faces trial in January, has denied the allegations through his lawyer.

“He told me I didn’t know what I was doing in business, that my beliefs were wrong, that he was amazed at my mediocrity,” Holmes said on his fourth day of testimony.

Holmes became emotional as she recounted how the rape while a student at Stanford caused her to drop out of school. For her, the best way to deal with the trauma was to make Theranos her tireless passion and obsession, she told the jury.

Shortly after leaving Stanford, the now 37-year-old woman has entered into a romantic relationship with Balwani, who is almost 20 years her senior.

Over time, Holmes said she came to realize that she was being manipulated and abused by Balwani. He once told her that she had to “be more like a man if I was to be in business,” she said.

Holmes told the jury that Balwani wanted her to “kill old Elizabeth,” which she said meant “to kill” the person who could never be successful in life or business.

“He taught me everything I thought I knew about business, and he was the best businessman I know,” said Holmes. “I didn’t question him like I would have done otherwise.”

The explosive allegations against Balwani were expected, since legal documents were unsealed in August describing a pattern of physical and emotional abuse Holmes allegedly suffered during a nearly decade-long romantic relationship with Balwani.

But Monday represented an astonishing turning point in the trial, the first time that the charges have been heard directly by the jury which will determine his fate.

Federal prosecutors have charged Holmes with 11 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud following the collapse of biotech startup Theranos. Once valued at $ 9 billion on promises to revolutionize the healthcare industry, the company has yielded to media scrutiny and government regulators.

According to the indictment Against Holmes and Balwani, the two defrauded investors and patients by providing misleading statements about the health of the company and the capabilities of blood testing technology.

Holmes on the witness stand was the most anticipated testimony in a 13-week trial.

Persuading the jury to unanimously agree that Holmes acted intentionally will be essential to securing a conviction. But she spent days on the witness stand trying to prove otherwise.

She suggested that other Theranos employees, including laboratory scientists and Balwani, were closest to some of the most troubling facets of the business.

Holmes, however, admitted in previous testimony that she had personally added the logos of drug companies to documents sent to business partners and potential investors who validated Theranos ‘technology, although she never had the companies’ permission. . It was, Holmes admitted, a misguided move she now regretted.

Holmes told the jury on Monday that around May 2016 Balwani left Theranos, when Holmes broke her romantic relationship with him and left the house they shared.

“He wasn’t who I thought he was,” Holmes said. “And I realized if I was going to solve his problems and see the business through its potential, I had to do it in the business without him.”

Federal prosecutors are expected to cross-examine Holmes on Tuesday.