NEW YORK, Sept 7 — As Elizabeth Holmes’ fraud trial gets underway this week, lawyers for the former Silicon Valley entrepreneur may try to show she was a true believer in the blood-testing technology at her startup Theranos Inc, and never intended to defraud investors and patients, legal experts said.
“The best way to argue a defense in a science-based case is to suggest that this young woman had a good faith belief that this science was real,” said defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman, who is not involved in the case. “Corporate executives generally do not face individual criminal liability for the actions and statements of a corporation’s agents or employees, and that principle holds equally true in this case,” they wrote.
Where there is no doubt about a fact such as an inaccurate test result, Brafman said the defense should “take it on the chin” and bring jurors back to questioning what Holmes knew. Balwani, who has denied the allegations, is scheduled to be tried separately next year. His attorney did not respond to request for comment.