Holmes testifies in fraud trial

JOSE — Fallen Silicon Valley star Elizabeth Holmes took the witness stand Friday in her criminal fraud trial. The former entrepreneur will attempt to refute the U.S. government’s allegations that she bamboozled investors and patients into believing that her startup, Theranos, would reshape health care.

The decision to have Holmes testify early in her defense and shortly after the government concluded its case was a bombshell development that carries considerable risk. Federal prosecutors made it clear they are eager to grill Holmes under oath as they prenology. sented their case. They won’t get that chance until Monday at the earliest, when the trial resumes.

The government’s evidence included testimony from 29 witnesses, including former U.S. Defense Secretary and former Theranos board member Gen. James Mattis, as well as internal documents and sometimes salacious texts between Holmes and her former lover, Sunny Bulwani, who also served as Theranos’ chief operating officer.

Prosecutors called the witnesses in an effort to prove that Holmes endangered patient’s lives while also duping investors and customers about Theranos’ techSAN Holmes walked slowly to the stand before a rapt courtroom. She took the stand about five hours after prosecutors rested a case they spent the past three months building against her.

She began her nearly hour-long testimony by recounting her early years as a student at Stanford University and her interest in disease detection, culminating in her decision to drop out of school at 19 and found the startup later known as Theranos.

If convicted, Holmes, 37, could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.