Judge denies Elizabeth Holmes' request for new trial

A federal judge has denied Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' request for a new trial after a key witness reiterated to the court last month that he stands by his testimony from her trial and denied claims that prosecutors misrepresented it.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, who oversaw the trial that ended with Holmes' conviction earlier this year, issued the ruling late Monday.

Holmes, 38, was found guilty in January of one charge of conspiracy and three charges of fraud after a jury found she criminally deceived investors over false claims that her company's blood-testing technology could diagnose diseases with just a few drops of blood. She was originally accused of 11 charges, and the jury could not reach a verdict on three of them.

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Attorneys for Holmes requested a new trial last month after former Theranos lab director and key government witness Dr. Adam Rosendorff showed up at Holmes' home and spoke with her partner, Billy Evans. The defense claims Rosendorff expressed regret over his testimony at the trial and allegedly said "the government made things sound worse than they were."

Rosendorff then issued a sworn statement to the court saying he stood by his testimony,

Legal experts previously told FOX Business that Holmes' claims did not warrant a new trial, but that accusations of prosecutorial misconduct are serious and the judge likely wanted to be sure the verdict would hold up on appeal.

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So, Rosendorff returned to the witness stand for an evidentiary hearing last month, where he reinforced to the court that he stands behind his earlier testimony and denied that it was influenced by prosecutors. 

Davila noted in his ruling Monday that during the evidentiary hearing, Rosendorff testified "on at least three occasions" that "he did not believe the government was making things sound worse than they were at trial."

The judge also dismissed Holmes' motion requesting a new trial due to statements prosecutors made during the trial of co-defendant Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, accusing Balwani of having undue influence over Holmes. 

Davila said that it was unlikely those claims would result in an acquittal for Holmes because Holmes herself "had testified that Balwani did not force her to make any of the statements to investors or journalists."

Balwani, a co-conspirator and former boyfriend of Holmes who was convicted on all 12 fraud charges against him, also requested a new trial citing Rosendorff's purported remorse. Davila previously denied Balwani's request, and his sentencing is set for next month.

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Holmes' sentencing date is now slated for Nov. 18. She faces up to 20 years in prison.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.