Theranos leader accuses ex-lover of abuse at trial
SAN JOSE — Disgraced entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes described herself as the abused puppet of her former lover and business partner Sunny Balwani in tearful testimony Monday, part of her attempt to refute accusations that she lied about a flawed blood-testing technology she had hailed as a major breakthrough.
After recounting how she met Balwani while she was still in high school, Holmes said she fell under his sway after she dropped out of Stanford University in 2003 to found Theranos, a startup she led as CEO for the next 15 years.
Holmes, weeping, testified she was raped at Stanford — a factor she believes played a role in what she characterized as her later subservience to Balwani, now 56. The two became romantically involved in 2005 before Balwani became chief operating officer at Theranos.
Even before joining Theranos, Balwani was regularly berating Holmes, now 37, as an inept executive who needed to “kill” her former self to become more disciplined and focused, according to her testimony.
At other times, Holmes said, Balwani tried to cut her off from her family in an alleged effort to ensure that she devoted herself full-time to Theranos. She also said he controlled her diet in an attempt to keep her “pure.” Sometimes after Balwani belittled her, Holmes testified, he would force her to have sex against her will to show he loved her.
The dramatic turn came during the fourth day of Holmes’ testimony before a jury weighing fraud charges that include swindling investors and customers while putting patients at risk by telling elaborate lies about the company’s development of an allegedly revolutionary bloodtesting device. Holmes could face a prison sentence of up to 20 years if convicted.
Balwani faces fraud allegations mirroring those against Holmes in another trial scheduled to begin early next year. He and Holmes ended their relationship in May 2016.
Jeffrey Coopersmith, Balwani’s lawyer, has vehemently denied Holmes’ abuse allegations.
Holmes briefly became a paper billionaire while promising that Theranos could provide cheaper tests scanning for hundreds of potential health problems using just a few drops of blood. Conventional tests typically require a vial of blood drawn from a vein.
Her pitch helped Theranos raise nearly $1 billion from investors. The company collapsed after a series of explosive articles in the Wall Street Journal and regulatory audits revealed rampant inaccuracies in Theranos’ blood tests.