Sunny Balwani sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for Theranos fraud
A federal judge has sentenced Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, 58, to nearly 13 years in federal prison for fraud related to the defunct blood-testing startup Theranos, which promised to perform more than 200 medical tests with just a few drops of blood despite its technology never working properly.
Balwani, who served as Theranos' chief operating officer, was convicted of all 12 counts of fraud in a unanimous verdict in July. Unlike Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, Balwani was convicted of defrauding investors and patients. Holmes' conviction on four counts of fraud only related to defrauding investors; she was acquitted of counts related to defrauding patients.
Holmes and Balwani, who were previously romantic partners, were co-conspirators in Theranos' fraud and were indicted together four years ago. However, US District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, separated their cases in 2020. During Holmes' trial, she testified that she suffered sexual, physical, and emotional abuse from Balwani. The two met in 2002 during a language-immersion program in China, while Holmes was an 18-year-old senior in high school and Balwani was in his late 30s pursuing a master's degree. Their subsequent decade-long relationship occurred in the background as they started Theranos.
