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Elizabeth Holmes- Case Archive
personpersonChristopher LucasChristopher LucasFounder of Black Diamond Ventures and an early Theranos investor.← All People
WitnessBlack Diamond Ventures

Christopher Lucas

Founder of Black Diamond Ventures and an early Theranos investor.

AppearedFederal Criminal Trial
850 lines·18 proceedings·12 mentions

About

Christopher Lucas testified for the prosecution about Black Diamond Ventures' Theranos investments, including an approximately $5.35 million investment completed on December 31, 2013. He described Holmes as his primary source of company information before that investment and said his own funds were among the money invested.

Lucas said launch announcements, public materials, Theranos's website, commercial partnerships, and conversations with Holmes led him to regard the company as less risky than it had been during Black Diamond's earlier investments. He understood that a Theranos analyzer could perform dozens of common tests using fingerstick samples and that the technology was being used by the military in the field. On redirect, he said his understanding of the analyzer's capabilities likely came from Holmes and that his assessment assumed her information was truthful and accurate.

Lucas acknowledged that customary financial information was unavailable and that Black Diamond required participating investors to recognize the missing information. He said Theranos supplied figures used in earlier projections, while he lacked independent access to the company's financial information or cash position. He also identified the planned Walgreens rollout, pricing, participation, and what he presumed to be Walgreens's analysis as important signals in his risk assessment.

The defense questioned Lucas about his venture-investment experience, early disclosures of development and commercialization risks, incomplete diligence, reliance on Walgreens, investment terms, Black Diamond's management fee, and its responsibility to monitor investments. Lucas repeatedly distinguished what he remembered from details he could not confirm.

Trial Record (18)

FederalFederal Criminal TrialAug 31, 2021 – Jan 3, 2022Called by prosecution

Christopher Lucas testified about how Holmes's statements, Theranos's commercial rollout, and retail partnerships influenced Black Diamond Ventures' 2013 investment despite missing financial information. The defense tested his account through his investment experience, knowledge of disclosed risks, reliance on Walgreens, compensation, monitoring duties, and limited recollection.

Day 23

ProceduralHearing on Exhibit 1349 Recording SegmentMentioned

Summary

Judge Davila allowed the defense to play a specified, previously unplayed portion of Exhibit 1349 after hearing objections and arguments concerning hearsay, Rule 106, foundation, relevance, and materiality.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 28

DirectChristopher Lucas — DirectChristopher LucasJohn C. Bostic4highlights272lines spoken

Summary

Christopher Lucas testified that BDV invested approximately $5.35 million in Theranos after relying heavily on Holmes, shareholder communications, public coverage, and claims about Theranos's technology. He acknowledged unusually limited transparency but said his relationship with Holmes and Theranos's partnerships increased his confidence.

Highlights (4)

admissionLucas testified that Theranos provided little transparency and did not offer customary access to financial statements or laboratory operations, but he believed his relationship with Holmes supplied the information needed for investment decisions.Open in transcript →
Quote“THERE WAS NOT A LOT OF TRANSPARENCY. HOWEVER, WE FELT, AND I FELT WITH MY RELATIONSHIP WITH ELIZABETH, THAT I WAS CERTAINLY BEING TOLD THE INFORMATION THAT I NEEDED IN MAKING ANY DECISIONS.”— Christopher LucasLucas directly contrasted Theranos's limited transparency with the trust he placed in his relationship with Holmes.Open in transcript →
evidence eventUsing shareholder communications and a Wall Street Journal article, the government elicited that commercial-launch claims about speed, cost, accuracy, small blood samples, and multiple tests were important to Lucas as an investor.Open in transcript →
Quote“CERTAINLY IRREGULAR IN THAT GENERALLY WE WOULD HAVE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, AND OTHER DOCUMENTATION AND SO FORTH COMING FROM THE COMPANY.”— Christopher LucasLucas characterized the information available from Theranos as irregular compared with BDV's prior investments.Open in transcript →
CrossChristopher Lucas — CrossChristopher LucasKevin M. Downey2highlights439lines spoken

Summary

Christopher Lucas acknowledged limited recollection and incomplete diligence surrounding Black Diamond's early Theranos investments while describing disclosed business risks, his reliance on management and his uncle, and the importance he assigned to Walgreens and the 2013 financing structure.

Highlights (2)

evidence eventThe court admitted Defendant's Exhibit 12022, the late-2005 materials Holmes sent Lucas before the first investment, and permitted publication.Open in transcript →
Quote“WELL, IF AN INVESTING ENTITY, OR ANY ENTITY, IS CONVERTING THEIR NOTES, THEIR NOTES ARE AT A HIGHER SECURITY THAN STOCK, AND SO IF THEY'RE WILLING TO CONVERT IT INTO EQUITY, IT MEANS THEY FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE INVESTMENT AND THAT THEY CAN THEN APPRECIATE.”— Christopher LucasThe answer shows how Lucas interpreted a strategic partner's conversion decision as a favorable investment signal.Open in transcript →
CrossChristopher Lucas — Cross ResumedChristopher LucasKevin M. Downey2highlights73lines spoken

Summary

Christopher Lucas said Safeway and Walgreens developments influenced his Theranos investment analysis, acknowledged Black Diamond Ventures' management fees and potential profit participation, and qualified his recollection of exact assay counts and compensation terms.

Highlights (2)

admissionLucas described Black Diamond Ventures' management-fee and profit-participation arrangements and said its work included keeping investors informed, monitoring investments, speaking with management, and helping portfolio companies.Open in transcript →
Quote“IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A 2 AND A HALF PERCENT ANNUAL MANAGEMENT FEE, AND THEN I'M JUST NOT REMEMBERING WHAT THE PROFIT PARTICIPATION WAS AS OUR NUMBERS HAVE INCREASED OVER THE YEARS, AND SO IT MAY VERY WELL BE THE 16 PERCENT THAT WAS SHOWN PRIOR. I JUST FORGET.”— Christopher LucasLucas acknowledged the annual management fee while qualifying his recollection of Black Diamond Ventures' profit participation.Open in transcript →
RedirectChristopher Lucas — RedirectChristopher LucasJohn C. Bostic5highlights50lines spoken

Summary

Christopher Lucas clarified that his 2013 investment relied on company-supplied information, Holmes's statements, and commercial-rollout signals despite his lack of independent financial information or knowledge of Theranos's cash position.

Highlights (5)

testimony highlightLucas testified that Theranos supplied the numbers used in earlier financial projections, that he lacked an independent source for company financials, and that he had no access to Theranos financial information or knowledge of its cash position around the 2013 investment.Open in transcript →
Quote“I DON'T FULLY RECALL THE PROCESS, BUT I WOULD HAVE RECEIVED NUMBERS FROM THE COMPANY, AND THEN I WOULD HAVE PUT THEM IN A NICE FORMAT.”— Christopher LucasLucas distinguished his formatting work from the source of the projections and qualified his recollection of the process.Open in transcript →
testimony highlightLucas said he probably did not consult the older analyzer timeline in 2013 and testified that his understanding that Theranos's own analyzer could perform dozens of tests likely came from Elizabeth Holmes.Open in transcript →
Quote“BUT CERTAINLY IF YOU'RE ROLLING IT OUT, YOU WOULD BELIEVE THE R&D FOR THAT PORTION OF IT WAS DONE.”— Christopher LucasLucas explained the inference he drew about technology maturity from Theranos's commercial rollout.Open in transcript →
Show all 5 highlights
testimony highlightLucas testified that he was satisfied with the questions asked and responses received before investing, based on an assumption that Holmes's information was truthful and accurate.Open in transcript →
RecrossChristopher Lucas — RecrossChristopher LucasKevin M. Downey1highlight10lines spoken

Summary

Christopher Lucas remembered reading an article reporting medical review of Theranos-supplied validation studies but did not recall the specific passage highlighted on recross. He was then excused, and Lynette Sawyer was called and sworn.

Highlights (1)

Quote“I DON'T REMEMBER, BUT I CERTAINLY REMEMBER THE ARTICLE AND I READ THE ARTICLE.”— Christopher LucasLucas preserved a distinction between remembering the article generally and recalling the specific passage highlighted on recross.Open in transcript →

Day 31

CrossAlan Eisenman — CrossAlan EisenmanKevin M. DowneyMentioned

Summary

Defense counsel challenged Alan Eisenman's recollection with a contemporaneous email, the 2006 stock-purchase agreement, and prior deposition testimony. Eisenman acknowledged substantial private-investment risks and contractual warnings while maintaining that Holmes's representations informed his decision.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

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