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The Dropout's Sunny Balwani's criminal trial is underway in San Jose, California, and texts between him and Elizabeth Holmes are set to play a key role in the prosecution case.
Prosecutors argue Holmes and Balwani of Silicon Valley start-up Theranos set out to defraud investors and separately, defraud doctors and patients.
The indictment at the time of their arrest in June 2018 alleged Holmes and Balwani made false claims "concerning Theranos' ability to provide accurate, fast, reliable, and cheap blood tests and test results" and omitted information about the problems associated with Theranos' technology, the Edison.
Balwani's trial began two months after his former girlfriend and Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of four counts of defrauding investors, which included three counts of wire fraud, and one of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Balwani faces charges of nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Balwani has pleaded not guilty.
On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, as part of Balwani's trial, jurors were shown a string of messages exchanged between Holmes and Balwani at the height of Theranos, which granted an insight into their romantic relationship and business partnership, with a lot of the messages focusing on money.
In one text exchange, reported by NBC, Balwani wrote: "I am responsible for everything at Theranos." This seems to contradict his defense argument that he was only an investor in the company.
In another message, Balwani expressed how far he was willing to go for the company.
He texted Holmes: "I worked six years day and night to help you...sad about where we are."
In another message, Balwani told Holmes: "I am very unhappy because my work sucks."
According to a report by NBC, other messages between the pair shown at the trial discussed meeting new investors, meeting revenue goals, and corporate planes.
His defense claims Balwani could not have committed fraud because he never made any money from Theranos.
Balwani met high school graduate and soon-to-be Stanford student Elizabeth Holmes during a Mandarin summer program in China in 2002. She was 18 years old when they met and he was 19 years her senior. Their relationship turned romantic in 2003, the same year Holmes founded her own company, Theranos.
Theranos claimed to have created a revolutionary blood-testing device that used just a small drop of blood from a finger prick to run hundreds of tests. However, the device, known as the Edison, never worked on the scale Theranos claimed.
In 2009, Sunny Balwani became Theranos' COO, a position he held until 2016 when he left the company. He was one of the largest shareholders in Theranos, with Holmes being the largest. He also invested $13 million into the company.
Other text messages grant an insight into the romantic side of Balwani and Holmes' relationship, which they kept secret from staff and investors.
Newsweek has the full exchange below, provided by NBC.
Balwani: "...this business...that's why the universe brought us together..."
Holmes: "I know."
Balwani: "...without you, seems like the building is an empty shell."
Holmes: "I know the feeling."
It is unclear when this exchange took place.
In his trial, his defense will likely have to respond to the abuse charges leveled against him by Holmes during her testimony in her own trial.
At her trial, Holmes stated Balwani controlled and sexually abused her. In court, she alleged Balwani wanted to "kill the person" she was and make her into a "new Elizabeth," reported The Washington Post.
Balwani has "categorically" denied the allegations of abuse made by Holmes, describing them as "false and inflammatory," reported Reuters.
The Dropout is streaming on Hulu now.
About the writer
Molli Mitchell is a Senior SEO TV and Film Newsweek Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on ... Read more