Theranos' Holmes Requests New Trial After Surprise Visit from Witness

Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Seeks New Trial, Citing Fresh Evidence

Elizabeth Holmes, founder of defunct blood-testing startup Theranos Inc. who was convicted of fraud, has asked a federal judge for a new trial after she said one of the prosecution’s star witnesses visited her house to express regret for his role in her trial, according to a new court filing.

Ms. Holmes said in a filing Tuesday that Adam Rosendorff, a former Theranos lab director who testified for five days in her criminal-fraud trial, showed up unannounced at her home Aug. 8. During his visit, Dr. Rosendorff spoke to Ms. Holmes’s partner and said that the government had twisted his testimony that Theranos was “working so hard to do something good and meaningful,” and that he felt guilty “to the point where he had difficulty sleeping,” according to the court filing.

Ms. Holmes is arguing that Dr. Rosendorff’s alleged statements to her partner qualifies her for a new trial or a hearing to discuss the evidence.

SEC Charges Perceptive Advisors for Failing to Disclose SPAC-Related Conflicts of Interest

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged New York-based investment adviser Perceptive Advisors LLC with failing to disclose conflicts of interest regarding its personnel’s ownership of sponsors of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) into which Perceptive advised its clients to invest.

According to the SEC’s order, in 2020, Perceptive formed multiple SPACs whose sponsors were owned both by Perceptive personnel and by a private fund that Perceptive advised. The Perceptive personnel were entitled to a portion of the compensation the SPAC sponsors received upon completion of the SPACs’ business combinations. The SEC’s order finds that Perceptive repeatedly invested assets of a private fund it advised in certain transactions that helped complete the SPACs’ business combinations and did not timely disclose these conflicts.

Invisalign Maker’s Ex-Vice President Accused of Insider Trading

Todd C. Doucette, 50, made nearly $349,000 in illegal profits by buying Align shares ahead of company earnings announcements in April 2018 and October 2020, the SEC said in a suit filed Tuesday in federal court in New Hampshire.

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According to the SEC, Doucette traded on information he received ahead of the April 2018 announcement that there had been positive growth in key metrics, including the number of net receipts and shipments for Invisalign products in the Americas region.

The regulator said Doucette also traded on other confidential information he learned before the company’s third-quarter earnings announcement in October 2020 — including data showing that gross receipts for Invisalign case shipments had increased 34.6% during the quarter when compared to the same period a year earlier.

Crypto-Destined 401(k) Ditchers Are on Labor Regulators’ Radar

Hemrajani is part of a new generation of retirement investors so committed to the prospect of lavish cryptocurrency returns that they’re willing to venture outside the confines of a workplace plan into the enigmatic and vaguely regulated world of digital IRAs.

Federal regulators, though, aren’t giving up without a fight. The US Labor Department has pushed back hard against crypto investing in 401(k)s and is ramping up a decades-old investment advice rulemaking project that could extend those protections into the digital IRA market.

Starbucks Execs Hit With Suit Alleging the Company’s DEI Policies Violate Civil Rights Laws

The new lawsuit against Starbucks shows that the anti-ESG backlash not limited just to legislation. As the lawsuit shows, the backlash can also take the form of litigation as well. The lawsuit also shows that there not only are advocates that will challenge companies for the lack of ESG initiative, there also are advocates that will challenge companies that are proactive on ESG. Thus, companies that are active on ESG issues could find themselves stepping into a political firestorm. And as this lawsuit shows it could subject the company to litigation risk as well.