Sunny Balwani sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for Theranos fraud

Enlarge / Former Theranos COO Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani and his legal team leave the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building on July 7, 2022 in San Jose, California. Balwani was found guilty on 12 counts of conspiracy and fraud for allegedly engaging in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud investors. (credit: Getty | David Odisho)

A federal judge has sentenced Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, 58, to nearly 13 years in federal prison for fraud related to the defunct blood-testing startup Theranos, which promised to perform more than 200 medical tests with just a few drops of blood despite its technology never working properly.

Balwani, who served as Theranos' chief operating officer, was convicted of all 12 counts of fraud in a unanimous verdict in July. Unlike Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, Balwani was convicted of defrauding investors and patients. Holmes' conviction on four counts of fraud only related to defrauding investors; she was acquitted of counts related to defrauding patients.

Holmes and Balwani, who were previously romantic partners, were co-conspirators in Theranos' fraud and were indicted together four years ago. However, US District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, separated their cases in 2020.