S2: I dont know. Well get them, Holmes responded. I mean, I wonder. Holmes replied. We could never access the data. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes reportedly sent a text to her ex-boyfriend and former COO referring to herself as 'best business person of the year' Sarah Jackson Sep 23, 2021, 10:33 AM. The startup was once celebrated as a biotech breakthrough and made Holmes one of the world's youngest female billionaires before the company disintegrated in scandal. TBD is produced by Ethan Brooks. Balwani said. Meeker is a well-known venture capitalist who is a partner at Bond Capital. SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) What did Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh Sunny Balwani say to each other when they thought no one else was listening? His board salary would've been $150,000 a year. They dont think this makes or breaks the case. My water. indicated they may accuse Balwani of intimate partner abuse. Got a confidential news tip? "My new life as of this night and forever more: - total confidence in myself best business person of the year focus details excellence don't give what anyone thinks engage employees in meetings by stories and making it about them (ie prepare well)," Holmes texted Balwani in November 2014 while discussing the full moon that evening. Prosecutors likely made the text messages public mid-trial in an attempt to prove that Holmes and Balwani conspired together, said former San Francisco deputy district attorney Michele Hagan. #Update: General James Mattis says he joined the Board, and invested $85,000 into #Theranos, calling it a significant amount of money for "someone who has been in the government for 40 years.". Balwani is effusive, often offering encouragement, advice and prayers to Holmes. They lied to investors, they knowingly gave people inaccurate medical tests, and now she's on trial for massive fraud. Holmes and Balwani each face 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Another thing Id rather not have entered into the public record are the times Ive sent a risky text and not gotten a response. "I know things are tough but don't give up on your dreams. She did enrich herself and she did live a really good life on the idea that the technology worked. "'In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. Holmes responded: "I thought so.". Hmm. Last Updated: .css-9d8khp-TimeTag{display:inline-block;}Feb. 25, 2022 at 7:41 PM EST, Former Theranos President Ramesh Balwani in 2019. So failure is not uncommon, and you should recognize that, they suggest. The message to her then-boyfriend and Theranos President Balwani are among thousands of private texts and Skype messages obtained by CNBC that show Holmes had no lack of confidence in herself and Theranos, the blood-testing company she founded. After all, this is Elizabeth Holmes were talking about. Text messages made public record recently by prosecutors expose private exchanges between the two executives from 2015, a time when their biotech company, Theranos, was coming under fire from whistleblowers and medical professionals. In email exchanges, text messages and board presentations, the prosecution paints a . Nov. 24, 2021 Downloads. Updated Fawning text messages between Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of blood-testing startup Theranos, and her ex-boyfriend and former business partner have been revealed after. "The way we handled the Wall Street Journal process was a disastrous," Holmes testified. Leach asked of the trove of messages prosecutors subpoenaed as part of the investigation. (Cheung would later testify that the number was even lower: around 12.) These pictures that are in my courtroom express some of that. Some of the messages talked about problems with the blood testing technology, which might help prosecutors show that Holmes knew that they didnt work as advertised. Many of Holmess lies are documented, but Rebecca says that doesnt mean its a guaranteed victory. I was thinking today. Holmes did not disagree. So which which Elizabeth are we going to see at trial? "Private security?" When Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani split, her life was shattered. A series of messages from April 2015 show the pair took a luxurious weekend trip to Las Vegas. I think that the sad truth is that history continues to repeat itself. AMY OSBORNE/AFP via Getty Images The next thing. Well be back next week. S2: That is such an important question, and its one Ive asked a lot of legal analysts and people who are close to Elizabeth what they expect. When pressed on another document from another drug company, GlaxoSmithKline, Leach asked Holmes if she had altered language on the report, and Holmes, again, testified that she did not recall. A Division of NBCUniversal. S1: What matters is if you go back and listen to the narratives that Holmes and the company were putting forward in 2013, 2014, shes saying the same thing over and over again. Elizabeth Holmes was CEO of Theranos. Like when Balwani texted her in April 2015: The Vegas trip is such a distraction. Now, perhaps that is the cautionary tale that will go forward from this case. They have both pleaded not guilty. The scheme brought her fame, it brought her honor, and it brought her adoration, Leach told the jury. We see stories of fraud in in both sets. They have all of her text messages. ", Referring to their investors, Balwani wrote, "They are not investing in our company they are investing in our destiny.. Like when Holmes texted Balwani you are the breeze in desert for me. Now, along with the might go to jail thing, Holmes has to live with the knowledge that everyone knows she sent that text. S1: But the Theranos blood testing devices didnt work like they were supposed to. ELIZABETH HOLMES TRIAL: I'm at the courthouse where Holmes' trial will resume this morning with more testimony from the prosecution's first witness, So Han Spivey. Elizabeth Holmes's reputation is disgraced, and her career is essentially over. There is breaks that will be set up. S1: Holmess defense may also try to argue that she was under extreme duress and couldnt tell right from wrong at the time. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact S2: I would describe her as somebody who is incredibly ambitious. The Slate Group LLC. Balwani responded by simply writing, "OK.". Carreyrou, sitting in the back of the courtroom, jotted down notes for the podcast series he hosts focused on the trial. Control your thoughts and don't let fear control you. U r listening and paying attention". The court will ask that the parties meet and confer regarding a restitution hearing date that we will set in the future. Shes scared of needles. All Rights Reserved, By submitting your email, you agree to our. Can you, I guess, describe some of the myths that she tried to make about herself? The court will adopt the recommendations of supervised release as indicated in the PSR. S1: She checked it out, but couldnt get anyone to independently verify that these Theranos blood tests, which only used a finger prick and not a traditional vein stick, were actually going to be better and cheaper. After her dramatic rise as fall as a young Silicon Valley CEO, Holmes walked away with nothing, her defense attorney told the jury. On the 2015 interview, Holmes said told Cramer: "Every test that we offer in our lab can be run on our proprietary devices.". "One dedicated security guy with us all night." Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Holmes' direct examination by her lawyer concluded on Monday . But under the facade of Theranos success there were significant problems brewing.. They could have tested it. S1: Rebecca Jarvis is ABC News chief Business, technology and economics correspondent. But the guys bought everything non refundable. One of the claims in the Journal report was that of the 240 blood tests Theranos offered, just about 15 were being processed using the company's proprietary device known as the Edison. Former Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes leaves the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building with her partner Billy Evans. The government's potential exhibit list runs nearly 240 pages and mentions correspondence between Holmes and Kissinger, emails from Murdoch to Holmes, and text messages between Holmes and Balwani. Businesses fail all of the time. But what the government has to prove now in the criminal case is that Holmes wasnt just a true believer with bad luck, but someone who intended to deceive investors and patients. They made their agreements, they exchanged business dealings, and I'm informed that more often than not those business dealings were sealed with a handshake, they were sealed with an eye-to-eye promise to perform, 'I'll bring this many bushels, tons of tomatoes, you will have strawberries, you will have cherries, you will have artichokes, you will have all of the riches that the earth below us in this wonderful, wonderful land produces.' And the author did not suggest that this case, this case was a case that was the type of case that Mr. Stevenson would handle, but the letter did use the word "mercy" and suggested then that is something that the court should also consider. They should take those risks free from lies and misrepresentation. Slate is published by The Slate In one text exchange, Theranos CEO and COO were trying to figure out which oftheiremployees was leaking information to theWall Street Journal. And those two individuals in that small wooden garage in Palo Alto, they created the technology that changed the agricultural economy for this area. Was it intoxication with the fame that comes with being a young entrepreneur? I saw it. I read an article just the other day, and Ive heard this from a handful of female founders who say they have struggled in the wake of Elizabeth Holmes to raise money from the venture community, because there are people in that community who look at Elizabeth Holmes and say, well, are you the next Elizabeth Holmes? And then I feel like the title, the Dropout was like a sort of nod wink at the self mythologising that Elizabeth Holmes put put forward. It was sent to Walgreens. Dramatic text messages were front and center Wednesday on another day of the Elizabeth Holmes trial. S1: The US in 2018, the United States filed criminal charges against her and her former CEO and boyfriend, Sunny, about warning next week. "They don't show abuse or any kind of difficulty between the two of them," said Michele Hagan, a legal analyst and former prosecutor, of previously released texts between Holmes and Balwani. This idea of affinity investing, it still exists saying, oh, I know that guy or girl. "You have my love in every breath. Its a crime on Main Street, and its a crime in Silicon Valley.. We, VCs we invest in businesses, and if we get a 10 percent return, we're successful, it's the next big thing, that's what we're looking for. Ex-Theranos employee Tyler Shultz was a whistleblower. This morning prosecutors asked the judge to grant her immunity to protect her against self incrimination while testifying. And that's the troubling part of this. In addition to Tyler, the duo suspected more Theranos employees, including whistleblower Erika Cheung, were also leaking company secrets. Elizabeth Holmes told the jury in her criminal fraud trial on Tuesday that she personally put the letterhead of pharma giants Pfizer and Schering-Plough on documents sent to potential business . Is it the inability or the refusal to accept responsibility or express contrition in any way? Spivey testified that Theranos was hemorrhaging money at a time when Holmes was portraying herself as a successful CEO to investors. Cracking a smile at the question, Holmes replied: "No.". At the end of the day, though, and I have talked to a lot of legal experts on this. There was significant evidence about manipulation and untruths that were being used in the negotiation of the business. Thats the same day. Leach asked Holmes about trying to shake down Theranos whistleblowers suspected to have worked with Carreyrou in exposing the company. To be clear, plenty of the missives included in the trial are things the prosecution might be able to use to try and prove she was guilty. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images (Balwani). Think outside the box this Mothers Day and opt for gifts other than flowers and chocolate. Everybody knows Steve Jobs always wore the black turtleneck. Filings unsealed last week and Holmes attorneys opening statement suggest she will try to defend her innocence by pinning the blame for the multi-billion dollar scam all on Balwani. elizabeth-holmes-transcript-2017.pdf (88.43 MB) STAY CONNECTED 1 Twitter 2 Facebook 3 RSS 4 YouTube 6 LinkedIn 8 Email Updates. Also on the stand on Wednesday was retired four-star general and former Theranos board member James Mattis. Balwani: Missing u in every breath and in every cell. ", "These messages show intimacy, a knowledge of how the company was operating and not operating," said Solomon, "and they're absolutely text messages that show that the Edison black box wasn't where it needed to be.". The text messages obtained by CNBC show discussions about Carreyrou between Balwani and Holmes. We know, the record shows, that the misrepresentation, there were many. One thing that the letters omit, though, they did not say, they did not say anything about, nor did they endorse, failure by fraud. These are letters in support of Ms. Holmes. S2: OK, so theres this database that includes results of Theranos tests, millions of them over the course of a handful of years. That her breast cancer has returned. Bad timing. S5: People dont like big needles being stuck into their arm, you know. From the stand, Holmes acknowledged that the company's actions targeting Cheung and Shultz were a mistake. She had recovered. Here are some notable exchanges from the newly released messages: Their relationship is expected to be key to Holmes' defense. Accessibility & Disability; The texts also show specifics about the high-flying lifestyle Holmes and Balwani led while Theranos was bleeding hundreds of millions of dollars, according to financial reports. Holmes and Balwani were working together, and worrying together, about their machines including one dubbed "Edison. The conclusion came roughly four months after testimony began, and. Searching for the word murder in iMessage brings up dozens of results, most of which are in conversations about online dating. She dropped out of Stanford at 19 and started Theranos with a promise that her machines could shake up an industry that hadnt changed in decades. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila, left, sits with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at a panel discussion in 2018. He is the grandson of George Shultz, a former secretary of state who served on Theranos board. She is its mostly taking the fifth. Privately, things were falling apart. The text messages paint a picture of life for the former couple. S2: That doesnt seem to have changed. S2: I was afraid of needles. However, if it was revealed to them what this jury heard and of the conduct that was engaged in, I am quite confident they would not, they would not condone that. Mine is full of bad tweets and shit talking and screenshots that should never, ever see the light of day. If very high-profile public trials like this one can be a deterrent against other people committing crimes like the ones Holmes is accused of, this one is working. Prosecutors said the texts support their argument that Balwanis statements to federal regulators about his responsibilities at Theranos are untrustworthybecause they may been colored by his affection for Holmes. Three years after she was first indicted, Holmes goes on trial for conspiracy and fraud. Beyond the love notes, there are also texts about seeking to silence medical professionals and Theranos employees who were raising red flags because Theranos mini blood testing devices were giving false test results. As though that would only fit one gender. That thats still fully exist today. So there is I think theres a reverse engineering there that might have gone on for her, that its like the most basic things that a person could copy that suddenly in her mind made her the equivalent of a Steve Jobs and also in the mind of the press. Ill be sticking to the law from here on out, thank you very much. I do think there are some who will be more cautious, but. They certainly watched the story unfold and it will send a signal. In a 2014 text message,. Im Lizzie OLeary and youre listening to what next TBD, a show about technology, power and how the future will be determined. We want to hear from you. Problems inside Theranos were first revealed in October 2015 by then Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou. S1: Ive heard people say that theres more riding on this than than just Elizabeth Holmes, that if if she goes to prison, that it might be something that says to Silicon Valley, like, hey, fake it till you make it is not a great way to do business. There's no question that Ms. Holmes is bright. Three years have passed since Elizabeth Holmes was indicted for fraud and conspiracy. S2: Yeah, I think its incredibly complicated. Alicia Montgomery is the executive producer for Slate Podcasts. I don't remember this process.". Below is a transcript of Davila's full remarks at the end of the sentencing hearing in San Jose, Calif., just before he handed down her punishment. S2: Ive thought a lot about that, too, and I agree with that. They really do rely on it. In some of the more uncomfortable moments of the day's testimony, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Leach made Holmes read cloying text messages with Balwani where she called him "my tiger" and Balwani wrote "I worship you.". For her part, Holmess responses are often short. "My water." "And ocean." "Meant to be only together tiger.". That same month, Holmes texted Balwani: "Just finished calls. "We were very worried about Mr. Carreyrou's story," Holmes testified, saying earlier that protecting trade secrets was the main concern. In his opening statement, Holmes attorney, Lance Wade, told the jury that she was recruiting the best businessman she knew when she hired Balwani, but now realizes it was a mistake. Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder and former CEO of Theranos, is set to resume testifying Tuesday in her own criminal trial. This idea of her lifestyle, which, again, is something her attorneys fought very hard to keep out of the courtroom. Now, Ive talked to a number of legal experts who believe that that type of defense, a mental disease or defect, can really backfire with a jury. The company was once valued at $9 billion. Do you think that the Silicon Valley has learned anything about kind of what role investors and sort of professional board member class plays in in things like this? The commerce of this valley shifted then, didn't it, from agriculture to technology. I know what you are thinking and going thru. Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. So the Page Mill Road where we see a lot of innovation, Sand Hill Road, the valleys here, they changed, those farms are gone, and in their place are the titans of industry that have developed from that small garage. "Ditto times a million," Holmes replied. S1: Back in 2013, ABC News correspondent Rebecca Jarvis was working on a story about high medical costs. This case is so troubling on so many, so many levels. The tragedy of this case is that Ms. Holmes is brilliant. Holmes trial resumed Tuesday with more testimony from prosecutors first witness, So Han Spivey. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was once the world's youngest self-made female billionaire. I mean, she might not explicitly say that, but she. They heard, saw the texts, the chain, the messages, the collaboration, if you will, between the co-defendants, and they saw that. But the guys bought everything non refundable. The issue there is the SCC depositions which Elizabeth conducted in twenty seventeen in in the depositions. She said the abuse occurred during the time in which prosecutors allege she and Balwani lied to investors and duped patients and doctors about Theranos, which Holmes, now 37, founded as a 19 year old. You will learn that Mr. Balwani did not take well to people who disagreed with him,Wade said. You can find all of the newly released texts here. What caused that? On cross examination by prosecutors on Tuesday, Holmes recollection became murkier. Now, at 31, shes what lots of teenagers with that background likely strive to become the youngest billionaire in the world. The court is not going to impose a fine in this matter. A subreddit dedicated to conversation about Theranos, the healthcare company founded by Elizabeth Holmes in 2003. Legal experts say Spivey is establishing a motive. Balwani: I know what you are thinking and going thru. Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani was COO. Revealing these text messages was part of the prosecution's . She faces up to 20 years in prison and has pleaded not guilty. Thanks for contacting us. There was one letter I wrote the quote down. To answer your questions, yes, a lot of the #Theranos text messages are (somewhat) romantic, but often with an undercurrent of paranoia:Elizabeth Holmes: "Was thinking about you this morning. And Ocean, the texts continued. The two also seemed to share a pet. Copyright 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Food came from this valley. Hang myself I assume, she responded, in another dubious (and to be clear, exaggerated) entry into both of our iMessage histories. "My whole foundation, life, what I believed in, devotion to the company, was based on believing he was this person," Holmes said of Balwani, her ex-boyfriend and business partner of the now-collapsed blood-testing startup Theranos. She has been subpoenaed to testify. When the company started to be exposed, Elizabeth Holmes seemed seemed to double down. We read about her. And its also part of Future Tense, a partnership of Slate, Arizona State University and New America. Even in the Sesi depositions, she only admits to mistakes and not knowing things. Sherry, I accurate the woman I mentioned. NBC Bay Areas Raj Mathai speaks with Business and Tech Reporter Scott Budman and Criminal Defense Attorney Paula Canny about the latest in the Theranos trial -- text message revelations. And that's the issue of funding for business that we see. Leach asked Holmes, and she agreed. The question is now, how is the jury going to respond to the evidence of individuals coming forward and saying, heres my story. At an early age, 19, going to a prestigious university. Murdoch invested $125 million in the company. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Control your thoughts and dont let fear control you. S1: Rebecca Jarvis spent years covering homes and made an investigative podcast about her called The Dropout. "Can't wait to learn more about conversation with Rupert," Balwani texted in response. The court has recognized that the sentence needs to be imposed to reflect the seriousness of the offense and to promote respect for the law and to provide just punishment for the offense, to afford adequate deterrence in criminal conduct. Balwani was both COO of Theranos and Holmes boyfriend. Weve all been there (we have, right? S2: Hey, theres this blood testing company, Theranos, and they can save your viewers a lot of money. Pray we get time of joy and happiness and carefreeness like birds soon," Balwani told Holmes in a couple of texts in April 2016. We've received your submission. In one exchange, he even suggests Holmes meet one-on-one with self-help author and motivational speaker Tony Robbins: He doesnt do this but we can ask.. Was it hubris? In a text to Balwani, she wrote that she and Balwani "need to get ahead of all of it.". The new season of her podcast, The Dropout, starts on August 31st. @kron4news pic.twitter.com/cA0OLv8smz. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. Those are concurrent, concurrent as to each count. Down to 5 people. alleging the pair were in an abusive relationship. So investors, sophisticated investors, it's all right to invest and lose money, that's the expectation, but the public and sophisticated investors that make those investments, they take those risks. Budget & Performance; Careers; Commission Votes; Contact; Contracts; Data Resources . In one of the more startling statements on direct examination last week, Holmes conceded that she herself affixed the logos of drug companies like Pfizer and Schering-Plough without their permission on documents provided to Walgreens to bolster the bona fides of the company. Holmes just had everything dumped on the internet for anyone to see. They spoke to a different individual perhaps that the jury heard. We know that this valley at one time from the rich earth here supported the world. I got an inaccurate test versus having a database to back up and say statistically, heres a large percentage of people who got inaccurate tests. Elizabeth Holmes, founder of failed blood-testing startup Theranos, was found guilty on four of 11 criminal-fraud charges. I got to comb through and pick only a few messages that I thought would help communicate that I am someone who sends somewhat embarrassing texts but am not TOO weird. General Mattis said he left the Theranos board when former President Donald Trump nominated him for Defense Secretary. Which is why it's hard to breath without your breath near me," Balwani responded. CNBC reached out to Walton and Murdoch. S1: But that doesnt seem to have changed. The richness of the earth that is below us here in this valley at one time was agriculture. She surrounded herself with people who were very powerful, but not necessarily people who were attuned to the work that she was specifically doing. It didn't work. knocking the legs off one at a time is the best way, Balwani wrote. Text evidence in Holmes' fraud trial shows proclamations of love but also tensions. So many people, including George Schultz and Jim Mattis, who are on her board, seem to maybe look the other way past some of these red flags, in part because they wanted a young woman to succeed. Holmes, welling up and sniffling as she recited the years-old messages to her onetime boyfriend, looked uneasy as Leach pressed her on the particulars of the texts. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and the companys president Ramesh Sunny Balwani exchanged intimate text messages that offer a rare look inside their once-secret romantic relationship. But theres still so much that feels relevant for more relatable reasons. S1: So Rebecca didnt do a story, but other reporters did. I read something that suggests Walgreens had the opportunity to test it. In March 2015, Holmes texted Balwani: "Mary Meeker trying to convince me to stay private, raise massive $$$ and go and think bigger.". They did not respond. Sunny was her (much older) boyfriend and co-conspirator. Alice Walton in for 50. Group, a Graham Holdings Company. It's unclear if Theranos paid for the trip. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila, left, sits with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at a panel discussion in 2018. Oakland Bike Shop Offers Free E-Bike Test Rides, French Bulldog Stolen From Car in Oakland, This 28-Year-Old Pays $62 a Month to Live in a Dumpster He Built for $5,000Take a Look Inside, 4 Stabbed, 1 in Critical Condition Following Fight in San Jose: Police, Steph Curry's 50-Point Game 7 Explosion Vs. Kings Lights Up NBA Twitter. Dozens of text messages between Holmes and her ex-boyfriend (and ex-business partner) Sunny Balwani were read aloud during Holmes' trial for fraud this week. Thousands were released by the prosecution and more were obtained by CNBC. The messages also provided a unique insight into the romantic life between the pair. Holmes appeared expressionless from the witness stand. In that case, you would anticipate you would see some kind of control issues at work. In their opening statement, Holmes defense team painted her as an innocent businesswoman whose company failed, and they reminded the jury that she did not run Theranos alone.