Theranos Trial: Former Product Manager Says How Failures Were Hidden During Demos
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – In the fraud trial of Elizabeth Holmes, a former Theranos project manager and college friend of Holmes' brother took the stand Tuesday.
Daniel Edlin testified that Holmes would often orchestrate company tours and demonstrations to hide the fact that Theranos technology often failed.
"What this witness did is to demonstrate to the jury that at the same time Theranos was saying they had this breakthrough medical technology, it was really just a cheap parlor trick. That it was a demonstration that was being faked," said legal analyst and former prosecutor Steve Clark.
Edlin joined Theranos in 2011, after being recruited by his Duke University buddy Christian Holmes, who is Elizabeth Holmes' brother and was a Theranos executive.
Prosecutors pointed to a 2013 email, which Holmes was copied on, which showed Edlin was instructed by managers to change or remove certain blood test results from Theranos devices during demonstrations.
Another email to lab staff instructed them to "hand-off" finger stick samples so they could be processed in in the lab, not on the device itself.
Clark says the Edlin's testimony goes straight to the government's allegation of fraud against Elizabeth Holmes.
"It's not just about Theranos not living up to expectations, it's that Ms. Holmes and Mr. Balwani were making outright fraudulent representations to investors to join the Theranos team," Clark told KPIX 5.
One of those investors was media mogul Rupert Murdoch, whose 2015 email chain with Holmes was shown to the jury Tuesday. She asked him to join her board, he was interested but also asked about a finger stick blood test he was given as a demo, but never got results.
On cross examination, Edlin agreed with a defense lawyer that he never put forth information he thought to be false.
The trial is now roughly to its halfway point, with still no indication whether Holmes herself will testify in her own defense.
"It's certainly damning what's happened to this point, but Ms. Holmes is the one person that can get up and explain herself to the jury and explain why she took the steps she did," Clark said.
