Coronavirus delays trial for Elizabeth Holmes, former Theranos CEO
Holmes rose in tech community based on her vision for simplified blood-testing system
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Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes’ trial date has been pushed back by a couple of months due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The trial is now scheduled to begin Oct. 27 in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday,
It was previously announced that jury selection for her trial would begin at the end of July, but a judge said during a status conference via telephone Wednesday that it would be postponed over safety concerns.
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The judge also reportedly left open the possibility that the date could be pushed back further, depending on the pandemic.
Holmes, who was once estimated to be a billionaire, had a spectacular rise to prominence in the technology community based on her vision of building a simplified blood-testing system.
But she had an equally spectacular fall and has been accused of misleading patients, doctors and investors about her blood tests.
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Theranos, Holmes and former president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani agreed to a settlement with the SEC, which alleges 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 is barred from serving as an officer or director at any public company for the next decade. She was forced to return to investors 18.9 million shares, which the SEC said were obtained through fraud, and paid a $500,000 penalty.
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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. Holmes and Balwani were indicted by a grand jury in June, which they are still defending themselves against.
In February, Holmes moved to have the fraud charges filed against her dismissed.