Sentencing of former Theranos boss Elizabeth Holmes has been delayed as a judge considers whether the testimony of a key witness in her high-profile trial was truthful. Holmes requested a new trial after claiming that federal prosecutors presented misleading evidence. She was convicted in January on four of 11 counts of defrauding investors in the blood-testing firm. The decision marks the latest twist in a case that has gripped Silicon Valley. Holmes entered the "motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence" regarding former Theranos laboratory director Adam Rosendorff, court papers showed.
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Holmes' lawyers said that Mr Rosendorff appeared at her home in August to express regret over his testimony in the trial. This latest development comes after her lawyers last month failed in an attempt to get the conviction overturned. Holmes, who is currently free on bail, had been due to be sentenced on 17 October. In January, a jury found Holmes guilty of defrauding investors after a months-long landmark trial in California. Jurors found her guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud against investors and three charges of wire fraud. She denied the charges.
Prosecutors said Holmes knowingly lied about technology that she said could detect diseases such as cancer and diabetes with a few drops of blood. The firm promised that it would revolutionize the healthcare industry with the test. But these claims began to unravel in 2015 after a Wall Street Journal investigation reported that its core blood-testing technology did not work. Her ex-boyfriend and former Theranos President Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani was found guilty in July on similar counts, as well as defrauding patients. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month. Theranos was once the darling of biotech and Silicon Valley, valued at $9bn (£7.9bn) at its peak. Holmes was able to raise more than $900m from billionaires, including media magnate Rupert Murdoch and technology mogul Larry Ellison.
