Ex-Theranos COO Sentenced to Nearly 13 Years in Prison for Fraud
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Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 13 years in prison for conspiracy and fraud during his time as the chief operating officer and president of the now-defunct blood-testing company Theranos.
A federal judge in California sentenced Balwani to twelve years and nine months in prison, as well as three years of probation. In July, a jury found Balwani guilty on all twelve felony counts of defrauding Theranos investors and patients.
Last month, Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos and Balwani’s ex-girlfriend, was sentenced to eleven years and three months in jail. Holmes was convicted of four counts of wire fraud.
Judge Ed Davila is set to determine restitution for both Balwani and Holmes at a later date.
Holmes started Theranos as a 19-year-old Stanford University dropout and quickly rose to fame as an icon of innovation after the company claimed it could test for a range of conditions with only a few drops of blood from a finger prick. Her huge claims and stardom helped the company raise $945 million from investors, including Oracle founder Larry Ellison, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and the Walton family of Walmart.
Theranos, once valued at $9 billion, began its descent in 2015 after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company had misled investors and patients: Its device had only ever been able to perform roughly a dozen of the hundreds of tests it offered. Theranos secretly used third-party manufactured devices from traditional blood testing companies instead.
Prosecutors requested a 15-year prison sentence for Balwani and more than $800 million in restitution. Attorneys for Balwani asked that he only be placed on probation.
Balwani chose not to speak before his sentencing.
Balwani’s defense attempted to blame Holmes for the wrongdoing at Theranos. Holmes similarly blamed Balwani and said he sexually and emotionally abused her during their time as a couple. He has denied the allegations.
