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Elizabeth Holmes- Case Archive
personpersonSo-Han SpiveySo-Han SpiveyFormer Theranos corporate controller who managed the company's accounting and financial records.← All People
WitnessTheranos

So-Han Spivey

Former Theranos corporate controller who managed the company's accounting and financial records.

AppearedFederal Criminal Trial
949 lines·14 proceedings·8 mentions

About

So-Han Spivey, who used the name Danise Yam at Theranos, testified for the government about the company's finances and her work as corporate controller. She authenticated financial records and described regularly reporting financial and cash information to Elizabeth Holmes.

Spivey traced Theranos's reported revenue, losses, accumulated deficits, cash balances, spending, and financing across multiple years. She described vendor-payment and payroll pressure in early 2009, a tightening cash position in 2013, limited revenue-generating contracts, and the absence of KPMG audit opinions for 2009 through 2015. She also testified that Theranos had no revenue-generating contracts with the Department of Defense, the United States military, or hospital chains.

Her testimony distinguished five-year forecasts supplied to Aranca for stock-option valuation from a separate investor-related projected income statement containing substantially larger figures. Spivey traced specific Aranca forecast figures to Holmes but denied preparing the investor projections, supplying their figures, or knowing their source. On redirect, she explained deferred revenue, identified financial statements sent to Holmes, and clarified operating-expense and Aranca valuation evidence.

When recalled, Spivey authenticated a Horizon Media email chain and connected an advertising approval request to a wire transfer for the same amount. Cross-examination narrowed the scope of that testimony: she handled information needed for payment approval rather than advertising content or execution, could not say whether the proposed advertisements ran, and clarified that the approval shown concerned the wire rather than proposed talking points. She also declined to confirm the contemporaneous accuracy of a balance-sheet figure that depended on assumptions.

Trial Record (14)

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

So-Han Spivey testified for the government about Theranos's financial condition, contracts, forecasts, cash reporting, and expense-approval practices. Her testimony also defined the limits of her knowledge about investor projections, advertising execution, and figures dependent on assumptions.

Day 4

DirectSo-Han Spivey — DirectSo-Han SpiveyRobert S. Leach8highlights166lines spoken

Summary

Theranos's former corporate controller described Holmes's access to financial information, the absence of KPMG audit opinions, the company's 2009 cash constraints, and financial records admitted as Exhibit 578.

Highlights (8)

testimony highlightSpivey identified herself, described her accounting education, CPA license, and auditing experience, and testified that she served as Theranos's corporate controller from 2006 to 2017.Open in transcript →
testimony highlightSpivey testified that after Howard Bailey left, Theranos generally had no CFO until an interim appointment in 2016; she reported directly to Holmes for much of 2008 through 2016 and regularly provided Holmes with financial-condition and cash-position reports.Open in transcript →
testimony highlightSpivey explained that KPMG did not issue opinions on Theranos's 2009 through 2015 financial statements and attributed the initial impasse to an unresolved valuation issue involving May 2010 stock options and a later financing round.Open in transcript →
Quote“USUALLY A COMPANY, FOR A PRIVATE COMPANY OR A SMALLER PRIVATE COMPANY, WE USUALLY HAVE A FINANCIAL STATEMENT, AN AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT ONCE A YEAR.”— So-Han SpiveySpivey explained why she regarded Theranos's prolonged lack of audited financial statements as unusual.Open in transcript →
Show all 8 highlights
testimony highlightSpivey described Theranos's early-2009 cash constraints, including selecting which vendors to pay, considering withholding Holmes's payroll, and working with Holmes to address a bank hold so the company could fund payroll.Open in transcript →
Quote“SO DURING THAT, DURING THAT PERIOD, SO WE WOULD -- DURING OUR NORMAL COURSE OF BUSINESS WE BUY, WE BUY SUPPLIES, WE BUY EQUIPMENTS, WE BUY, YOU KNOW -- OR WE HAVE TO PAY RENT AND SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND WE USUALLY HAVE CREDIT TERMS LIKE THE VENDOR WOULD GIVE US 30 DAYS OR 60 DAYS TO PAY THE BILL. BUT WHEN THAT BILL COMES DUE SOMETIMES DURING THIS FIRST HALF OF 2009, AND SOMETIMES I -- WE JUST DO NOT HAVE THE CASH TO PAY ALL OF THEM ON TIME, SO I WOULD HAVE TO PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH ONE WE WANT TO PAY FIRST.”— So-Han SpiveySpivey gave a detailed account of Theranos's early-2009 inability to pay all vendors when bills came due.Open in transcript →
Quote“I LET HER KNOW THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PAY ALL OF THE VENDORS AND IN ONE INSTANCE THAT I ALSO TOLD HER THAT WE WOULDN'T, YOU KNOW -- I ALSO SUGGEST TO HER THAT WE MAY HAVE TO WITHHOLD HER PAYROLL SO THAT WE COULD PAY A FEW MORE VENDOR WITH THE MONEY. AND THERE'S ALSO A SITUATION THAT WE HAVE TO CONTACT THE BANKER TO CLEAR A CHECK SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THE NEXT PAYROLL.”— So-Han SpiveySpivey described the cash problems she communicated directly to Holmes and the measures considered to meet vendor and payroll obligations.Open in transcript →
evidence eventSpivey authenticated Exhibit 578 as an email and accompanying financial information prepared from Theranos business records; the court admitted and published it without defense objection.Open in transcript →

Day 6

DirectSo-Han Spivey — DirectSo-Han SpiveyRobert S. Leach8highlights339lines spoken

Summary

Theranos's former controller traced the company's revenue, losses, cash position, contracts, and Aranca valuation forecasts, while disclaiming knowledge of a separate investor projection document admitted only provisionally.

Highlights (8)

testimony highlightExhibits 615 and 792 were admitted by stipulation, and Spivey used the financial statements to identify falling revenue, mounting annual losses, and accumulated deficits through 2012.Open in transcript →
Quote“BECAUSE THERE WAS NO REVENUE FOR THE COMPANY.”— So-Han SpiveySpivey explained why the 2012 income statement contained no revenue line.Open in transcript →
testimony highlightUsing the Aranca valuation materials, Spivey described the historical financial information and five-year forecasts supplied for the valuation, Holmes's role in the projections, and approximately $730.1 million received from Series C-2 investors.Open in transcript →
Quote“BECAUSE SHE HAS THE BEST INFORMATION ON WHAT THE COMPANY PROJECTION AND FORECAST IS.”— So-Han SpiveySpivey explained why she consulted Holmes when providing information for the independent common-stock valuation.Open in transcript →
Show all 8 highlights
testimony highlightSpivey reviewed contract summaries identifying Theranos's limited revenue-generating agreements with pharmaceutical companies and testified that Theranos had none with the Department of Defense, the United States military, or hospital chains.Open in transcript →
testimony highlightExhibit 5172 showed Spivey's weekly reporting to Holmes and Balwani as Theranos's September 2013 cash balance declined while weekly spending was roughly $1.2 million to $2.2 million, followed by substantial stock or option proceeds.Open in transcript →
Quote“IT STARTED TO GET A BIT TIGHT, NOT TO THE EXTENT OF 2009, BUT WE WERE WATCHING THE CASH POSITION VERY CLOSELY.”— So-Han SpiveySpivey qualified her description of Theranos's 2013 cash difficulties by comparing them with the more severe 2009 shortage.Open in transcript →
evidence eventSpivey traced forecast figures supplied to Aranca back to Holmes but denied preparing investor projections or knowing the source of the much larger figures in Exhibit 4859; the court admitted that exhibit only provisionally, subject to a later foundation.Open in transcript →
RedirectSo-Han Spivey — RedirectSo-Han SpiveyRobert S. Leach2highlights29lines spoken

Summary

Spivey clarified that deferred revenue was unearned and potentially refundable, tied 2009 cash receipts to operating expenses, and confirmed that Aranca assigned no weight to the C-2 financing approach in its stock-option valuation.

Highlights (2)

Quote“IT'S MONEY THAT THE COMPANY RECEIVED BUT WE HAVE NOT PROVIDES SERVICES OR PRODUCT.”— So-Han SpiveySpivey defined deferred revenue as money received before the company supplied the corresponding services or products.Open in transcript →
Quote“DEPENDING ON THE CONTRACTS. THERE COULD BE A CLAUSE FOR A REFUND.”— So-Han SpiveyThe answer preserved an important qualification: refund exposure depended on the governing contract.Open in transcript →

Day 9

ProceduralEvidentiary HearingMentioned

Summary

The court set an initial protocol for displaying selected Holmes-Balwani messages, confirmed limits on customer-impact testimony, and addressed corrected test reports without deciding all message-specific objections.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 12

CrossAdam Rosendorff — CrossAdam RosendorffLance A. WadeMentioned

Summary

Defense counsel challenged Adam Rosendorff with his government-interview history, prior testimony, and laboratory records while examining his CLIA responsibility, management constraints, the restricted September 2013 launch, assay validation, and Theranos's quality and reporting systems.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 31

ProceduralLIS Evidence and Door-Opening HearingMentioned

Summary

The parties debated whether a possible missing-LIS argument would open the door to evidence about the system's unavailability, and the defense agreed to provide limited notice by the next afternoon. The government also announced a limited recall of Danise Yam concerning an email.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 32

CrossAlan Eisenman — CrossAlan EisenmanKevin M. DowneyMentioned

Summary

Defense counsel used investor emails, prior statements, and Eisenman's communications with prosecutors during his ongoing testimony to challenge his recollection and credibility. Eisenman maintained that Theranos withheld information and that Balwani encouraged his 2013 investment, while acknowledging limits on his information rights and an email to the prosecution after a no-contact instruction.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 33

DirectSo-Han Spivey — DirectSo-Han SpiveyRobert S. Leach4highlights52lines spoken

Summary

Spivey authenticated a Horizon Media approval email, described Holmes's and Balwani's expense-approval role, and linked a $1,126,661 request to a wire-transfer record for the same amount.

Highlights (4)

testimony highlightSpivey testified that Theranos expenses went through approval by either Elizabeth Holmes or Sunny Balwani and explained that approval emails were retained before approved expenses entered the general ledger.Open in transcript →
Quote“SO FOR SUNNY -- SO ALL OF THE EXPENSES WOULD GO THROUGH THE APPROVAL OF EITHER SUNNY BALWANI OR ELIZABETH HOLMES.”— So-Han SpiveySpivey described the executive approval structure governing Theranos expenses.Open in transcript →
Quote“SHE IS SEEKING APPROVAL FROM ELIZABETH HOLMES AND SUNNY BALWANI FOR THE T.V. SPEND FOR 3Q AND 4Q.”— So-Han SpiveySpivey interpreted the media-plan email as a request for executive approval of television spending.Open in transcript →
evidence eventThe displayed wire-transfer record showed Horizon Media as beneficiary of a $1,126,661 transfer—the same amount in the approval request—and Spivey testified that the documents satisfied her that approval was ultimately obtained in some form.Open in transcript →
CrossSo-Han Spivey — CrossSo-Han SpiveyLance A. Wade4highlights55lines spoken

Summary

Spivey limited her role to supplying information for payment approval, denied responsibility for proposed advertising content, and qualified the accuracy of an assumed January 2014 balance sheet admitted as Exhibit 1396.

Highlights (4)

testimony highlightThe defense established that Spivey did not prepare advertising content, did not participate in finalizing the proposed activity, and did not know whether the identified advertisements ultimately ran.Open in transcript →
Quote“YEAH, I FOCUS ON WHAT'S -- WELL, INFORMATION THAT SUNNY BALWANI AND ELIZABETH HOLMES NEEDS IN ORDER TO APPROVE THE PAYMENT.”— So-Han SpiveySpivey distinguished her payment-approval function from responsibility for advertising content.Open in transcript →
testimony highlightSpivey cautioned that the January 8, 2014 balance sheet appeared to rely on assumptions, leaving her unsure whether its figure was accurate at that time, though she said she had tried to provide the most accurate balance sheet possible from the books.Open in transcript →
Quote“FROM THIS EMAIL IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE MAKING SOME ASSUMPTIONS, SO I'M NOT SURE IF THAT WAS AN ACCURATE NUMBER AT THAT TIME.”— So-Han SpiveySpivey qualified the reliability of the balance-sheet figure by noting that the document appeared to incorporate assumptions.Open in transcript →

Day 39

ProceduralHearing on Admission of Sunny Balwani’s Prior TestimonyMentioned

Summary

The defense sought to admit selected SEC deposition testimony from Ramesh Balwani under two Rule 804 exceptions. The government opposed admission, and the court probed unavailability, self-inculpatory character, corroboration, SEC-DOJ alignment, completeness, and the lack of prosecution cross-examination without announcing a ruling.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 42

CrossElizabeth A. Holmes — CrossElizabeth A. HolmesRobert S. LeachMentioned

Summary

Holmes acknowledged that Theranos devices were not clinically deployed with the military, that the company used third-party analyzers, and that key disclosures to investors, Walgreens, and Roger Parloff omitted or misstated aspects of actual laboratory operations. The prosecution also confronted her with divergent revenue projections, laboratory warnings, prototype limitations, special investor-visit workflows, and her knowledge of the troubled 2015 CMS inspection.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 46

ClosingClosing Argument by the ProsecutionJeff SchenkMentioned

Summary

The prosecution argued that Holmes knowingly deceived investors and patients, linked the documentary and testimonial record to the conspiracy and wire-fraud elements, rebutted the principal defense themes, and requested guilty verdicts on all remaining counts.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 47