Before blood-testing company Theranos Inc. collapsed, founder Elizabeth Holmes was the darling of Silicon Valley’s startup world. She graced magazine covers, drew comparisons with Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, and, for a while, sat on a fortune valued at $4.5 billion.
Now, federal prosecutors charging her with criminal fraud want jurors to hear about that wealth and adoration at a coming trial.
Ms. Holmes and California prosecutors are sparring over what details a judge will allow into the trial in July, with fights over not only her wealth, but also testimony from Theranos patients who received inaccurate blood results and internal emails prosecutors say show the company trying to evade lab inspectors.
In all, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila is set to weigh more than 20 dueling motions seeking clarity on what jurors can hear as both sides ready for what is expected to be a lengthy trial that has been repeatedly delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. attorney’s office in the Northern District of California in June 2018 accused Ms. Holmes and former Theranos president and chief operating officer Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani of misleading Theranos investors and patients about the company’s technology, which purported to test for a variety of health conditions with a single finger prick and a few drops of blood.
