The former second man of fallen US biotech company Theranos, Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani, has been sentenced to nearly thirteen years in prison. A US court ruled on Tuesday. That’s about two years older than founder and former CEO Elizabeth Holmes.
Holmes and Balwani have been running Theranos for years. The two said they have found ways to perform many tests with just a few drops of blood. This would have meant a breakthrough in medical technology. The start-up grew into a billion dollar company and Holmes was called the new Steve Jobs.
The technology turned out not to be there at all. Holmes and Balwani were found to have lied to investors. Patients have also been affected. When news of the deception got out, the company quickly collapsed.
Balwani was found guilty of, among other things, fraud and received a 155-month prison sentence, which amounts to twelve years and eleven months. Holmes was already last month condemned to 135 months’ imprisonment (eleven years and three months).
The cases against Holmes and Balwani were handled separately. This is because they had a romantic relationship during their years with Theranos and Holmes claims Balwani allegedly abused her during that time. She also allegedly manipulated Holmes. Balwani denies the allegations.
