Taking a deep breath, ElizabethHolmes briefly crumpled her face as she spoke.
Ms.Holmes testified in court on Monday that she was abused by her former boyfriend. She said that he was controlling her and keeping her away from her family. She said that he forced her to have sex with him.
He would force me to have sex with him if I didn't want to because he wanted me to know he still loved me, she said on the stand.
It was the most dramatic moment in the trial, with Ms.Holmes accused of lying and faking her way into hundreds of millions of dollars for her failed blood testing start-up, Theranos. Prosecutors have been trying to show that Ms.Holmes lied to investors, doctors and patients about the efficacy of her blood testing technology.
She was indicted along with Mr. Balwani, her secret boyfriend for more than a decade, and the former chief operating officer of Theranos. The lawyers for Ms.Holmes argued to split their cases last year. The judge told the jury not to speculate as to why Mr. Balwani was not present. Both pleaded not guilty.
The trial has been held up as a parable of Silicon Valley arrogance and a sign of the times. Most start-up founders who raise money or secure business deals are never charged with fraud. The tech industry has amassed enormous wealth and power and a guilty verdict could embolden regulators to further crack down. If she is convicted, she will face 20 years in prison.
The jury may have a different perception of what happened with the new accusations about her relationship with Mr. Balwani. Her lawyers have painted her as inexperienced and unqualified to run a lab. They only mentioned Mr. Balwani's role in the fraud.
Lance Wade said in opening statements in September that Ms. Holmes had made mistakes by trusting and relying on Mr. Balwani as her primary adviser.
Mr. Balwani has denied all accusations. His lawyers didn't respond to the request for comment.
The person is from San Jose, Calif.
The person is from San Jose, Calif.
Carlos Chavarria is a writer for The New York Times.
Two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud will be tried by a jury.
The key figures in the case are listed.
The person is from San Jose, Calif.
Stephen Lam.
Theranos was founded by a 19-year-old dropout. She raised $945 million from investors and was crowned the world's youngest billionaire, but she has been accused of lying about how well the technology worked. She has denied the charges.
The person is from San Jose, Calif.
The images are by Justin Sullivan.
The president and chief operating officer of Theranos from 2009 to 2016 was a romantic partner of the CEO. He is accused of fraud and may be tried next year. He has denied the charges.
The person is from San Jose, Calif.
The New York Times had Jefferson Siegel as a writer.
David Boies served on the board of Theranos.
whistle-blowers and reporters who questioned the company's business practices were tried to shut down.
The person is from San Jose, Calif.
The images are from the same company.
The journalist John Carreyrou exposed fraudulent practices at Theranos.
The implosion of Theranos was caused by his coverage of The Wall Street Journal.
The person is from San Jose, Calif.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.
Two people are whistle-blowers, one is a former Theranos employee. They worked at the start-up.
George Shultz was a former secretary of state and was on the Theranos board.
The person is from San Jose, Calif.
The New York Times has an employee named Eric Thayer.
James Mattis was a member of the board.
He was the secretary of defense.
The person is from San Jose, Calif.
The case will be overseen by a federal judge.
Kevin Downey is a partner at the Washington law firm Williams & Connolly.
The prosecution for the government will be led by Robert Leach, an assistant United States attorney for the Northern District of California.
Nov. 15, 2021.
The start-up once said it had contracts with the military, but Ms. Holmes testified that her comments about that had been misinterpreted. She said she didn't mean to deceive anyone during technology demonstrations. She said that other people were responsible for day-to-day management of the lab.
She hid her relationship from the public while Theranos was on its way to a $9 billion valuation. The company voided two years of test results due to regulatory scrutiny.
For months, trial watchers have wondered if Ms. Holmes would point fingers at Mr. Balwani as part of her defense. They plan to call an expert witness to explain Ms. Holmes accusations.
David M. Ring, a civil trial lawyer specializing in sexual assault and abuse cases, said that Blaming her relationship with Mr. Balwani could backfire.
He said that Elizabeth was telling us that she was the puppet and that she was the puppeteer. If the jury finds her account credible, that will go a long way to an acquittal.
She met Mr. Balwani on a trip to China when she was 18. He is 20 years older than her. After she said she had been raped, Mr. Balwani comforted her, and she contacted Theranos.
He said that he was safe after I met him. Mr. Balwani joined Theranos in 2009.
Ms.Holmes presented herself as confident and poised as the company grew. She said that Mr. Balwani pushed her to follow a strict daily regimen of prayers, tenets and green juice.
She said that he told her that she didn't know what she was doing and that if she followed her instincts she would fail.
She said that Mr. Balwani told her to kill her old self and become a new Elizabeth.
The notes taken on her phone backed up her account. If I did it, don't enjoy anything about it or who I am. Hurts a lot. So much.
She moved out in 2016 after regulators found major problems in the lab. She said she had believed in Theranos's technology until that point. She looked at Mr. Balwani in a different light after the inspection. She said that he wasn't who she thought he was.
The case against Ms. Holmes is complicated by the introduction of this defense. They have tried to link the alleged fraud at Theranos to Ms. Holmes by showing her emails and text messages.
She was a hands-on leader who took charge of meetings with investors and partners and micromanaged things like marketing copy. Ms. Holmes admitted that she personally added the logos of pharmaceutical companies to reports that she sent to investors.
The prosecutors played a video of Ms. Holmes talking about the problems at Theranos. She said she was the founder and C.E.O. of the company. My responsibility at the end of the day is anything that happens in this company.
On Monday, Ms.Holmes said she was manipulated by her older boyfriend who claimed responsibility for her success.
She said that he impacted everything about who she was.
