Attorneys for Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes sparred with federal prosecutors Thursday over whether details of the wealth, fame and perks she attained as chief executive would be relevant to jurors at her coming criminal fraud trial.
“What she wore, where she stayed, how she flew, what she ate—has nothing to do with this trial,” Kevin Downey, an attorney for Ms. Holmes, said in federal court in San Jose, Calif.
Ms. Holmes is facing a trial in late August on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for alleged misrepresentations she made about Theranos’s blood-testing technology.
Theranos touted a breakthrough technology that purported to test for a variety of health conditions using blood extracted from a finger prick.
The startup collapsed in 2018, following the criminal charges against Ms. Holmes and former Chief Operating Officer Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani and a series of articles in The Wall Street Journal investigating questions about the company’s claims. Both she and Mr. Balwani, who will separately face trial after her, have pleaded not guilty.
