The former partner of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison along with his co-conspirators.
Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani has been jailed for nearly 13 years for his part in the company’s blood-testing scam, which duped investors and put patients at risk as the couple enjoyed a life of fame and fortune.
Just weeks earlier, Holmes, who was described by Forbes as America’s youngest female self-made billionaire, was told she would Spent over 11 years in prison Because of her role in a case that affected the world.
Balwani, 57, was found guilty in July of fraud and conspiracy related to the Silicon Valley company’s falsified medical technology, which was sold as being able to detect dozens of diseases with a single drop of blood.
He served as chief operating officer of Theranos and had an affair with CEO Sherlock Holmes until their painful split in 2016, after The Wall Street Journal first broke news about the company.
During the trial, Holmes, 38, accused Balwani of manipulating her through years of emotional and sexual abuse, allegations his lawyers have denied.
In court documents, his legal team portrayed him as a hardworking immigrant from India in the 1980s — but prosecutors say he “fabricated a story about Theranos” after “thought it out that honesty would destroy” the company. The False Story of Technology”.
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Who is “Sunshine” Balwani?
Balwani graduated from the University of Texas in 1990 with a degree in Information Systems.
He later moved to Silicon Valley, where he first worked as a computer programmer for Microsoft before founding and selling an online start-up during the dot-com boom of the 1990s.
Holmes, who had dropped out of Stanford to pursue his ambition to start Theranos, was instantly smitten with her — just as the company’s investors were quickly smitten with her.
Theranos was founded in 2003, with the help of Holmes, who redirected family money spent on studies back into business.
Following the example of her idol Steve Jobs (the famous Apple co-founder), Holmes’ company took Silicon Valley by storm with its pioneering blood-testing technology, attracting Rupert Murdoch and U.S. pharmaceutical magnate Wallace Wallace. Investments by companies such as Greene.
Lawyers for Balwani said he invested $5m (£4m) in a stake worth around $500m (£411m) – with Holmes’ $4.5bn (£3.6bn) one-off fortune and the firm’s $9bn This is only a small fraction (£7.4bn) compared to the highest value in the world.
Theranos has a market cap of $9 billion.Photo: Associated Press
‘He maintains a facade’
Prosecutors said Balwani voluntarily became an accomplice to Holmes’ lies about Theranos technology and took pleasure in “maintaining the semblance of that achievement” every day for years.
He was portrayed as a ruthless, power-hungry figure as they sought to be convicted on more than a dozen charges.
Holmes was acquitted of several counts of fraud and conspiracy to target people who paid for Theranos blood tests, while Balwani was found guilty of all 12 counts.
Lawyers for Balwani have asserted that Holmes was “more responsible” for the fraud.
“He invested literally millions of dollars with his own money; he never sought fame or recognition; and he has long quietly donated to the less fortunate,” they said.
They added that Balwani “has lost his career, his reputation and his ability to work meaningfully again,” with the scandal being portrayed in various media outlets — including a critically acclaimed TV series.
Sherlock Holmes’ rise has seen her rub shoulders with ex-president Bill Clinton and others
Prosecutors want Holmes and Balwani to pay $804m (£660m) each to defrauded investors.
During Holmes’ sentencing, the judge postponed a decision on this until an unspecified future date.