This story contains mention of sexual assault.
The fraud trial of Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, former president and COO of failed blood-testing startup Theranos, has been delayed. The trial is now expected to take place in March.Balwani's trial, which was set to take place on Feb. 15, was put off due to COVID-19 concerns. This is the second delay to Balwani's trial, the first of which was due to the unexpected length of Elizabeth Holmes' trial.
Holmes was convicted Monday of four counts of investor fraud and conspiracy. She was found not guilty of defrauding patients, and no verdict could be reached for three of the counts. Balwani, who is charged with nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, has plead not guilty. Each count is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, which will likely be served concurrently.
Much of Holmes' defense pinned the blame on Balwani. Holmes testified that he was in charge of the lab operations and finances at Theranos, and she said she never questioned decisions he made. She also alleged that he controlled her life down to the minute, and sexually abused her, which his attorney reportedly denied.