‘Sunny’ day in court delayed
Wednesday’s opening arguments in the fraud trial of former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani were delayed because someone in the courtroom reported being exposed to a COVID-19 patient.
As a precaution, California federal Judge Edward Davila, who is judge presiding over the case of Elizabeth Holmes’ ex-lover who served as her chief operating officer at the now-defunct tech startup, sent everyone home from the San Jose courthouse.
Davila said someone who attended jury selection Tuesday was exposed to the virus, but tested negative, and he offered those in attendance testing kits.
The trial, which had been scheduled originally for Feb. 15, but was put off due to the spread of the Omicron variant, is tentatively scheduled to resume Friday, although it could be postponed until next week.
It comes weeks after Holmes was found guilty of several counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She faces up to 80 years in prison.
Prosecutors may call Holmes to the stand, and legal observers believe she could offer up incriminating testimony against Balwani in a bid for a lighter prison sentence.
During her trial, Holmes accused Balwani of sexual and verbal abuse. She told the jury that his behavior toward her “impacted everything about who I was.”
“He told me that I didn’t know what I was doing in business, that my convictions were wrong, that he was astonished at my mediocrity and if I followed my instincts I was going to fail,” she testified.
“He would force me to have sex with him when I didn’t want to because he wanted me to know he still loved me.”
Balwani is said to have told Holmes what to eat, estranged her from her family, and put her on a schedule that had her working seven days per week.
He allegedly snooped on her text messages and hurled “sharp, hard objects” at her, Holmes’ lawyers claimed in a court document that was reported by Slate. Balwani has denied the allegations.
Federal prosecutors allege Holmes and Balwani misled investors about a device that could allow people to test their own blood at home using a finger prick.