Lawyers for Elizabeth Holmes Make Dismissal Bid in Theranos Criminal Case
In a motion joined by her codefendant, former company president Ramesh Balwani, Holmes's lawyers at Williams & Connolly write that the indictment "does not allege that a single patient received an inaccurate result."
December 17, 2019 at 03:17 PM
4 minute read
Defense attorneys for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes have asked a federal judge in San Jose to dismiss the criminal indictment against her and the company's former COO and president Ramesh Balwani, claiming that prosecutors have failed to allege any single fraudulent statement or misrepresentation made about the now-defunct blood-testing company.
"Ms. Holmes cannot prepare her defense without knowing what statements by whom, to whom, and about what the government claims were fraudulent," wrote Holmes' lawyers at Williams & Connolly in court papers filed Monday. "And neither the defense nor the court can be confident that the grand jury passed upon whatever statements the government ultimately attempts to offer at trial when the Indictment does not indicate what those statements are," they wrote.
Balwani's lawyers at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe filed court papers of their own Monday indicating that their client was joining Holmes' three separate motions to dismiss portions of the superseding indictment in the case. In lieu of dismissal, the defendants have asked U.S. District Judge Edward Davila of the Northern District of California, who is overseeing the case set for trial next summer, to force the government to provide more detailed information about how it intends to show that Holmes and Balwani misled investors and customers about the company's blood-testing capacities, its partnership with the Walgreens pharmacy chain, or any need Theranos might have for regulatory approval.
The pair were initially indicted in July 2018 on two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud based on claims they knew that Theranos' blood analyzer could not deliver on the public promises they were making to provide "fast, inexpensive, accurate, and reliable" tests.
Kevin Downey of Williams & Connolly didn't immediately respond to messages Tuesday. Holmes is also represented by criminal defense lawyer John Cline in San Francisco. Jeffrey Coopersmith, Balwani's lead lawyer who moved to Orrick from Davis Wright Tremaine this fall, said in an email that he had no comment beyond the court filings. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of California which is prosecuting the case didn't respond to a message Tuesday.
Holmes's lawyers contend that prosecutors have failed to allege that their client had the "specific intent" required to maintain a wire fraud conviction. In particular, they argued that the indictment does not allege that any single Theranos patient received an inaccurate test result "nor does it identify a single misrepresentation or omission that affected the bargain struck between Theranos and its customers as alleged in the Indictment—the provision of fast, inexpensive, accurate, and reliable blood tests."
"It is utterly unclear how the parties and the Court will try this case based on the indictment," Holmes' lawyers wrote.
The flurry of motions from Holmes' criminal lawyers come as the lawyers at Cooley were allowed this month to bow out of defending her from civil claims pending in Arizona federal court. Cooley asked to withdraw from the Arizona case where Holmes, the company and Walgreens face claims of fraud and medical battery. The Cooley lawyers wrote this fall that the firm hadn't been paid in more than a year and had "no expectation that Ms. Holmes will ever pay it for its services as her counsel."
Read more:
Judge to Let Cooley Bow Out of Representing Elizabeth Holmes in Theranos Civil Case
In Theranos Civil Case, Cooley Says Elizabeth Holmes Has Growing Unpaid Legal Bill
Orrick Adds White-Collar Trio, Including Ex-Theranos COO's Lawyer
Judge Nudges Agencies to Hand Over Info to Theranos Defendants
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'Pull Back the Curtain': Ex-NFL Players Seek Discovery in Lawsuit Over League's Disability Plan
'Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable': Pearls of Wisdom From 2024 GC Q&As
Insurers Dodge Sherwin-Williams' Claim for $102M Lead Paint Abatement Payment, State High Court Rules
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1‘Catholic Charities v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission’: Another Consequence of 'Hobby Lobby'?
- 2With DEI Rollbacks, Employment Lawyers See Potential For Targeting Corporate Commitment to Equality
- 3In-House Legal Network The L Suite Acquires Legal E-Learning Platform Luminate+
- 4In Police Shooting Case, Kavanaugh Bleeds Blue and Jackson ‘Very Very Confused’
- 5Trump RTO Mandates Won’t Disrupt Big Law Policies—But Client Expectations Might
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250