The federal fraud trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes will be delayed until October due to the pandemic

• The federal judge presiding over the criminal trial of Elizabeth Holmes, ex-CEO of Theranos, has ruled that proceedings will be delayed until October.
• Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the judge ruled that it was not "realistic" to expect the trial to start as scheduled in July without putting participants in the case at risk of exposure.
• Federal prosecutors intend to pursue adding further charges of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud to Holmes' indictment after some charges were dismissed in February.
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The trial for Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of failed blood-testing startup Theranos facing federal fraud charges, has been delayed until October due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The federal judge presiding over the case, Edward Davila, said during a hearing Wednesday that the original trial start date set for July was no longer "realistic." The judge ruled that amid the coronavirus pandemic, it's unclear when large gatherings, such as the Theranos case, would be able to resume by the summer without putting people at risk of spreading or contracting COVID-19, the coronavirus disease.

Ahead of Wednesday's hearing, both defense lawyers and prosecutors had proposed postponing the start date for the trial to avoid health risks associated with a large courtroom gathering of trial participants, grand jury members, as well as the crowds of reporters and onlookers that have gathered for Holmes' previous court appearances.

"We're obviously in uncharted territory here, both in our daily lives and our current occupations," Lance Wade, one of Holmes' defense attorneys, said during the status hearing via telephone. "All future trial participants in this court and other courts are going to have to wrestle with this new post-pandemic world."

Despite the trial being pushed to October, Holmes' defense team has maintained that it should be delayed even further to early 2021. After some of the federal charges against Holmes were thrown out in February, prosecutors said in a recent court filing they intended to pursue further indictments against Holmes on wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud investors. Since the grand jury is not in session due to the pandemic, the court has yet to decide whether these charges can be added to the trial.

Considering more than 20 million documents have already been presented in the case, Holmes' defense team argued they needed considerably more time to prepare their case in light of the new allegations.

This is just the latest way the pandemic has affected the proceedings of the criminal case against Holmes, who could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Earlier in April, the lawyers defending Holmes asked the case be deemed "essential," which would allow the them to defy multiple lockdown orders to continue to travel, meet face-to-face, and interview witnesses in preparation. However, the judge said he was "taken aback" by the filing, and has yet to grant their request.

Additionally, regular status updates related to the case have had to take place over the telephone, as millions around the world - including California, where the trial is taking place and Holmes lives - comply with shelter-in-place guidelines. The federal court in San Jose, California, where Holmes' trial is supposed to take place, is closed until at least May 1.

Once the CEO of multi-billion dollar blood-testing company Theranos, Holmes now is facing multiple federal charges of fraud stemming from allegations that she schemed to defraud the startup's investors, its doctors, and its patients while knowing that its test results were inaccurate and unreliable. At her peak, Holmes was lauded as "the next Steve Jobs" and was worth $4.5 billion.

The Department of Justice charged Holmes and Sunny Balwani, Theranos' former president, in June 2018, and both have pleaded not guilty. Although the pair - who hid that they were romantically involved for much of the time they headed Theranos - were charged together, the judge in the case ruled in March the two would stand trial separately, with Holmes going first.

The next status hearing is scheduled for July, where the judge will reevaluate based on the status of the coronavirus outbreak.

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