Jeff Chiu/AP
Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of blood-testing startup Theranos, plans to defend herself at her federal fraud trial starting next week by arguing that her ex-boyfriend, who was an executive at the company, emotionally and sexually abused her, impairing her state of mind at the time of the alleged crimes, according to newly unsealed legal filings in her case.
In documents released early Saturday, Holmes’ legal strategy was for the first time outlined by lawyers involved in the case: She intends to pin the blame on Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, her former boyfriend and onetime top Theranos executive who has been charged in a separate fraud trial, set to take place next year.
Holmes is likely to take the stand and testify at her trial, according to her attorneys in the submissions to the court.
The bombshell revelations come on the eve of the trial of Holmes, who stands accused of defrauding patients and investors in operating Theranos, a much-hyped company that promised to revolutionize laboratory science and attracted hundreds of millions of dollars of investment only to implode when journalists and government regulators closely examined the firm’s exaggerated claims.
The new court papers, related to legal arguments over whether Balwani should be tried separately or with Holmes, disclose the degree to which Holmes is preparing to argue that Balwani controlled, manipulated and abused her.
In particular, Holmes is set to describe at trial how Balwani controlled how she ate, how she dressed and with whom she spoke, according to a filing.
Holmes intends to say that Balwani monitored her calls, text messages and emails and that he was physically violent, throwing “hard, sharp objects” at her.
The court papers also revealed that Holmes is set to accuse Balwani of sexual abuse.
“This pattern of abuse and coercive control continued over the approximately decade-long duration of Ms. Holmes and Mr. Balwani’s relationship, including during the period of the charged conspiracies,” wrote lawyers for…
Read More: Elizabeth Holmes Plans To Accuse Ex-Boyfriend Of Abuse At Trial : NPR