Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Welcomes First Child Ahead Of Fraud Trial
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has welcomed her first child ahead of her fraud trial.
The 37-year-old previously disclosed her pregnancy to the court in March. She and Billy Evans reportedly welcomed William Holmes Evans on July 10 in Redwood City, Calif. With the news that she was expecting, her counsel and prosecutors had previously filed documents to ask that the judge move her trial's start date as the baby was due in July.
Holmes' trial had already been postponed several times due to the coronavirus pandemic. "In light of Defendant's pregnancy, the parties stipulate and agree, and respectfully request that the Court order, that the trial begin with jury selection on August 31, 2021," the filing from the time read.
At a pretrial hearing in June, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila said that there would be a quiet room for Holmes to use during breaks in the trial to tend to the baby, per ABC News.
Following the filing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Leach said it was "frustrating and disappointing to learn about this now," the outlet noted.
On ABC News' "The Dropout: Elizabeth Holmes on Trial" podcast, criminal defense attorney Caroline Polisi — who is not involved in the trial — said that Holmes having a newborn is going to "have a bearing on the jury's perception of her," despite the fact that "they're not supposed to."
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"Not only is that going to help her in her trial, but it will really help her in the event that she is convicted," Polisi said. "The fact that she is a young, new mother is going to play into any potential sentence."
Defense attorney Jose Baez — who is also not involved in the trial — said on the podcast that he thought it could have a different effect. "I really think that could backfire because once a juror feels that one side is trying to manipulate them over another, they're not going to like it," he explained.
Holmes is facing 12 counts of fraud after being indicted in June 2018 with Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who is the former chief operating officer of Holmes' blood-testing company Theranos. The indictment alleged that they had engaged in a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud investors and a separate scheme to defraud doctors and patients by claiming that the company could provide cheap, fast and reliable blood tests and results.
They were accused of "raising more than $700 million from investors through an elaborate, years-long fraud" by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
If convicted, both Holmes and Balwani could face up to 20 years behind bars, fines of more than $250,000 and restitution for each count. Both pleaded not guilty. Balwani will reportedly face trial in January 2022.
