Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the president and chief operating officer of Theranos, was convicted Thursday of all 12 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, NBC News reported.
Theranos, the blood-testing company that claimed its technology could detect diseases within a patient using only drops of blood, was founded by Elizabeth Holmes, his alleged co-conspirator, in 2003, NBC News reported. (RELATED: FLASHBACK: Figures From Across Political Spectrum Praised Elizabeth Holmes And Her Biotech Company)
Former Theranos exec Sunny Balwani convicted of 12 counts of fraud https://t.co/R5JOOHZuCC
— The Guardian (@guardian) July 7, 2022
Balwani, 57, started working at the now-defunct health care startup in 2009 while he was secretly dating Holmes. In 2010, the company was valued at $1 billion, according to NBC News.
Holmes, 38, asked a judge to get rid of her conviction, NBC News reported. In January, she was convicted on four of 11 counts of fraud, with each count carrying a possible sentence of 20 years in prison. She will be sentenced at the end of September.
Her attorneys accused Balwani of deceiving investors by lying about Theranos’ revenue and profitability. Prosecutors accused Balwani of exaggerating Theranos’ revenue while he asked investors for more cash to support Theranos.
Balwani’s lawyers accused Holmes of controlling all aspects of the business, which included sharing faulty data on its technology.
After his verdict was read, Balwani appeared to be in a serious discussion with his two brothers, The New York Post reported.