Home United States USA — Political Ex-Theranos president Ramesh Balwani gets 13-year prison term in fraud case

Ex-Theranos president Ramesh Balwani gets 13-year prison term in fraud case

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Former Theranos Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani was sentenced to 13 years in prison for defrauding investors and patients of Theranos Inc., the blood-testing startup he ran alongside its founder and chief executive officer Elizabeth Holmes.

The sentence imposed Wednesday by US District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, is far closer to the 15-year term prosecutors asked for than what Balwani’s lawyers sought — home detention or supervised release on probation. Davila last month ordered Holmes to serve 11 1/4 years in prison.
As he did with Holmes, the judge said he’ll decide later how much restitution Balwani must pay. The government has asked for both to be ordered to pay about $800 million.
Balwani, 57, chose to remain silent rather than make a statement to the judge before he was sentenced. He sat still showing no emotion as his prison term was announced. Family members sitting behind him in court didn’t react either.
“We are disappointed with the outcome,” his attorney, Jeffrey Coopersmith, said in a statement. “We respectfully disagree and plan to appeal.”

Balwani and Holmes, who had a romantic relationship while they worked together, were tried and convicted separately of lying about the accuracy and capabilities of Theranos’s blood-testing machines.

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