Ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes’ court date may be pushed into 2021

Embattled Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' trial may be delayed once again due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a judge said Monday.

Holmes appeared via video conference for a U.S. District Court appearance to discuss pretrial motions regarding evidence for the case, which was originally scheduled to take place this summer but was postponed until October.

However, Judge Edward Davila said Monday it was “unrealistic” to believe the trial would be carried out in October, considering the need to take into account the health and safety of participants – including jury members – amid the pandemic.

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An attorney representing Holmes requested Monday that the trial be put on hold until April. The judge asked the defense and prosecution teams to meet and confer on a potential date.

There are said to be 30 trial participants on the defense side, as well as 170 witnesses from 15 different states that have been identified by the government.

The trial is expected to last for three months.

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Holmes, and former Theranos President Sunny Balwani, whom Holmes dated, were indicted by a grand jury in 2018.

Holmes has been charged with felony conspiracy and “massive fraud” after allegedly misleading patients, health care professionals and investors about the blood-testing technology being developed by Theranos.

In 2018, Holmes and Balwani agreed to a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which alleges that they committed a “massive fraud” in lying about one of the company’s key products.

In addition, Holmes was stripped of control of the company and barred from serving as an officer or director at any public company for the next decade, according to the SEC. She was forced to return to investors 18.9 million shares, which the SEC said were obtained through fraud, and pay a $500,000 penalty.

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Holmes and Balwani were charged with raising more than $700 million from investors through a fraudulent scheme that took place over the course of years. The SEC accused them of making misleading statements during investor presentations and product demonstrations about a machine that can test and process small samples of blood.

If convicted, Holmes could face as many as two decades in prison, though she has denied any wrongdoing.

Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 as a privately held health care technology company in Silicon Valley. Theranos’ demise was chronicled by Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyou in his book “Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup.”

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Fox News’ Elka Worner contributed to this report.