Sunday, January 26, 2020

"Theranos founder Holmes phones in to court hearing solo after lawyers say she stiffed them: report"

What we have here is a sociopath, something that was apparent to anyone paying attention.*
From the San Jose Mercury-News, who were one of the few media outlets who never fell for the spiel:
Holmes representing herself in Arizona civil case
In her regular attendance at the San Jose federal courthouse for hearings in her high-stakes criminal fraud case, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been flanked by expensive lawyers. But in an Arizona civil case, she took part in a hearing this week representing herself, and by phone, according to a report Friday.

Holmes has seven lawyers preparing for the August trial start in her criminal case in U.S. District Court, and fighting federal prosecutors over evidence. In the Arizona case — a lawsuit filed by blood-testing customers against Holmes, the defunct Palo Alto  startup Theranos, and drug store chain Walgreens — court records earlier this month indicated she had two lawyers defending her. That was after three attorneys representing her in that case quit in the fall, saying she hadn’t paid them for more than a year and probably never would. Now, the court docket shows Holmes representing herself in the civil case.

And, according to a Bloomberg report, she didn’t appear at a hearing in that case Thursday, instead calling in to the courtroom via an audio feed. She told the judge she wouldn’t make any arguments, but would rely on arguments made by lawyers for the other defendants in the case, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing an unnamed lawyer said to be present at the proceedings.
Legal experts say Holmes faces considerable financial peril from the legal actions against her, with legal fees on top of possible restitution for investors, fines and a prison sentence....MORE
Previously on Elizabeth and the lawyers:
"Attorneys say disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes isn’t paying them"
*And on the sociopathy, way back in June 2015, four months before the WSJ's John Carryou:
"Theranos: She's Young, She's Rich, Is She A Marketing Huckster?" through January 2019's "Ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes says "I don't know" 600+ times in never-before-broadcast deposition tapes 
The woman is a sociopath.
And many in between.
In 2016 we linked to this:

....FT Alphaville's founder and first editor Paul Murphy had some seriously cutting words for Ms Holmes:
Elizabeth Holmes: still absolutely, resolutely in denial… 
...What system of education or business culture encourages and tolerates such a delusional, wingnut, swinging-from-the-rafters claim such as that Theranos, the would-be bloody unicorn, is not already a dead horse?...MORE
But FT Alphaville and the Mercury-News were the exceptions. Forbes, Fortune, Inc. the New York Times and dozens more were fawning all over Ms. Holmes and her deal.
Leading to:
Fortune Senior Editor: "How Theranos Misled Me" (and Theranos responds)

NYT Public Editor Blasts Arrillaga-Andreessen Magazine Feature for ‘Clear’ Conflict of Interest