Holmes blames his former business partner for the brutality in Theranos case

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has accused her ex-boyfriend and business partner Ramesh Balwani of repeatedly forcing her to have sex on evidence in her fraudulent case, calling her an abusive partner who strongly encouraged her management of the company.

Holmes said in a court hearing on Monday that Balwani had criticized his performance as an adult in initiating a blood test. Sometimes she gets angry and forces him to have sex with her, he said, adding that Balwani said he wanted her to know that he “still loves me”.

Holmes faces 11 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud on the grounds that Theranos has altered the blood test technology. Theranos shut down in 2018 after it was revealed that the company’s state-of-the-art machines were not performing as they wished. Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

He has denied the charge, and on his fourth and last day direct evidence, led by security lawyers at law firm Williams & Connolly, tried to refute allegations that he had deliberately misled investors and other businesses while building Theranos into a $ 9bn company.

In a court case in San Jose, California, Holmes tried to portray Balwani as an oppressive force whose power caused the company to collapse and undermine its leadership.

“He was very angry with me and would sometimes come up to us and force us to have sex when I didn’t want to,” says Holmes.

Balwani and Holmes stayed together from 2005 until they left the company in 2016, he said. Balwani’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request from an email for comment. Balwani’s lawyers have already denied the allegations of violence.

Holmes security forces sent text messages and text messages from Holmes’ phone about the times when Balwani had forced sex, testified.

After another incident, Holmes testified, writing to Balwani: “I hate it.” After one incident, according to Holmes, he wrote in his cell phone: “Don’t really enjoy anything about it or what I have already done.”

Holmes also criticized Balwani for being too supportive of her as an adult, making her less time and food. He said he dropped out of Stanford University to find Theranos raped at school, and Balwani, 20, said he was “safe now since I met him”.

When asked by Kevin Downey, a lawyer, about how his relationship with Balwani affected his career in Theranos, Holmes said: “He touched everything about who I was and I don’t understand.”

Holmes’ attorneys reportedly had an “intimate relationship” with Balwani and a paramedic examined him for 14 hours.

Over the weekend, prosecutors challenged Holmes’ jurisdiction to confirm Balwani’s earlier allegations in the case, saying they had tried to summon him to testify. Judge Edward Davila did not immediately rule on the case.

Balwani’s lawyer said he had asked for his right not to testify if he had been summoned, according to the security services.

Davila ordered in March last year that Balwani and Holmes split trials after being prosecuted together on similar charges.