Former Theranos President Found Guilty of Fraud
Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani is scheduled to be sentenced in September. Elizabeth Holmes is also scheduled to get her sentence then.
Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani.
A California court on Thursday convicted Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani of 12 counts of fraud, according to The New York Times. Balwani is the former president and chief operating officer of Theranos, the now infamous blood-testing startup led by Elizabeth Holmes.
The jury reportedly found Balwani guilty of 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In January, Holmes was convicted of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
"We are obviously disappointed with the verdicts," Balwani's attorney, Jeff Coopersmith, said in an emailed statement. "We plan to study and consider all of Mr. Balwani's options including an appeal."
Both Balwani and Holmes were charged with defrauding investors of Theranos. The two were accused of working together to obfuscate and manipulate tests from the company's machine, called the Edison. Theranos was once valued at more than $9 billion but was shut down in 2018 following investigations into the fraudulent practices.
Balwani and Holmes are scheduled to receive their sentences sometime in September. Each count of fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The Theranos saga has been the source of podcasts, a documentary and a Hulu TV series.