Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes faces cross-examination

The fraud trial of fallen Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is set to resume Tuesday with continued cross-examination of Holmes and possible expert psychological testimony

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes spent another five hours on the witness stand Tuesday sparring with a federal prosecutor aiming to prove criminal allegations that she misled investors, customers, and patients about a flawed blood-testing technology that she spent years touting as a medical breakthrough.

Much of Holmes’ second day of cross-examination by government lawyer Robert Leach mirrored what happened during the first day when she struggled to recall key events that triggered the fraud charges facing her.

As he did last week, Leach repeatedly tried to jog her memory by pulling up her own emails from six to nine years ago, as part of his efforts to persuade a jury that Holmes knew about serious problems with Theranos’ blood-testing equipment, even as she continued to hail it as a major step forward. That pitch helped Theranos raise more than $900 million from investors and strike a deal to roll out its technology in Walgreens pharmacies before its eventual collapse in 2018.

By 2014, Theranos was such a hot commodity in Silicon Valley that Holmes’ controlling stake in the Palo Alto, California, company was valued at $4.5 billion.