Elizabeth Holmes, founder and former CEO of Theranos, arrives for a motion hearing on Monday, November 4, 2019, at the United States District Court inside the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building in San Jose, California.
Yichuan Cao | NurPhoto | Getty Images
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, whose trial for criminal fraud was scheduled to begin in July, is calling for a postponement because she is pregnant.
In a lawsuit on Friday, his defense lawyers and prosecutors asked Judge Edward Davila to delay the start of his trial by six weeks to begin August 31, 2021.
“On March 2, 2021, the Defendant’s lawyer informed the government that the Defendant is pregnant, with a due date in July 2021,” wrote Holmes’ prosecutors and lawyers. “Both parties agree that, in light of this development, it is not feasible to start the trial on July 13, 2021.”
No other details were immediately available.
The trial has already been postponed three times due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Holmes’ legal team was prepared to raise the issue of mental health as part of its defense strategy. In a previous lawsuit, Holmes’ lawyers wrote that they intend to present evidence “related to a mental illness or defect or any other mental condition of the defendant that relates to … the guilt issue”.
This would include expert testimony from Dr. Mindy Mechanic, professor of clinical psychology at California State University Fullerton, who, according to the University’s website, “focuses on the psychosocial consequences of violence, trauma and victimization, with an emphasis on violence against women and other forms of interpersonal violence. “
The judge gave federal prosecutors the ability to conduct their own examination of Holmes’ mental health and to be examined by two specialists, a psychologist and a psychiatrist.
Holmes and his former COO Sunny Balwani are facing a dozen criminal charges of electronic fraud and 20 years in prison for falsely claiming that Theranos technology could perform dozens of blood tests with just a drop or two of blood.
The Silicon Valley start-up was valued at $ 9 billion before it closed in 2018.