[ad_1]
Elizabeth Holmes, the former Theranos CEO convicted of fraud, has been granted a hearing for a new trial based on possible government misconduct related to a key witness, a California judge announced Tuesday.
The key witness, Adam Rosendorff, the former lab director of Theranos, arrived at Holmes’ house “disheveled” and wanting to talk in August, and since the visit, Elizabeth Holmes has requested a new trial multiple times. California Judge Edward Davila granted Holmes an evidentiary hearing scheduled for October 17.
According to the motion filed on Tuesday, the judge granted the hearing based on “the possibility that the Government may have engaged in misconduct and related to the declaration of Dr. Rosendorff.”
Holmes’ sentencing, originally scheduled for October 17, will now be rescheduled pending the outcome of the evidentiary hearing.
In August, when Rosendorff arrived at Holmes’ house, he did not speak with Holmes directly but told her partner he had regrets about the trial, according to motions filed following the visit. Rosendorff believed that “the government made things seem worse than they were,” and “he felt he had done something wrong in connection with Ms. Holmes’ trial.”
Holmes’ partner, Billy Evans, later recounted the interaction with Rosendorff in an email to Holmes’ lawyer and described Rosendorff as having a “disheveled” appearance.
“His shirt was untucked, his hair was messy, his voice slightly trembled,” Evans wrote in the email.
Rosendorff’s regrets call into question his credibility and the way he influenced the jury, according to court filings.
Rosendorff was Theranos’ laboratory director from April 2013 to November 2014. He testified for six days during the trial and described instances of inaccurate and irregular lab results, the New York Times reported. He was mentioned in opening and closing arguments “more than any other witness,” according to the motion.
The trial concluded in January when a federal jury convicted Holmes of four counts of fraud, including an investor wire fraud conspiracy count and three substantive wire fraud counts, with wire transfers totaling more than $140 million.
Holmes raised concerns during the trial about Rosendorff’s potential bias in the government’s favor due to pending government investigations into three positions he held after working at Theranos, according to the motion.
The motion further cited ethical constraints limiting Holmes’ lawyers from returning Rosendorff’s phone call without consent from Rosendorff’s lawyer. The next day, after Rosendorff visited Holmes’ house, Holmes’ lawyer emailed the lawyer who appeared with Rosendorff at trial. The attorney said there was no need for Holmes’ lawyer to return Rosendorff’s call.
Holmes faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution.
Holmes’ attorney did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Photo credit: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
[ad_2]
