Theranos Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Balwani found guilty of multimillion-dollar fraud in US

New York, July 8

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Blood-testing company Theranos’s Chief Operating Officer Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani has been found guilty by a federal jury in the US on all counts he was charged with related to a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme at the company founded by his former girlfriend Elizabeth Holmes, once touted as Silicon Valley’s rising star.

The federal jury in San Jose on Thursday found Pakistan-born Balwani, 57, guilty of two counts of conspiracy and 10 counts of wire fraud through a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud investors and patients in connection with the operations of Theranos, United States Attorney Stephanie Hinds and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan said in a statement.

The jury reached the verdict on Thursday after a trial that began in March this year before United States District Judge Edward J Davila and concluded just over six months after a jury found Holmes guilty of one count of conspiracy and three counts of wire fraud in related proceedings.

“Six months after the guilty verdicts in the Elizabeth Holmes trial, this jury has concluded that Holmes’s business partner, Ramesh Balwani, also bears responsibility for defrauding investors in Theranos. The jury concluded that Balwani also perpetrated fraud on unsuspecting patients,” Hinds said.

Balwani remains free on bond pending further hearings. Judge Davila scheduled Balwani’s sentencing hearing for November 15, 2022 when he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a fine of USD250,000, plus restitution, for each count of conspiracy and each count of wire fraud.

He was employed from September 2009 to July 2016 at the Palo Alto-based blood-testing company founded by Holmes, 38, in 2003.

While employed with Theranos, Balwani worked for the company in several capacities, including as a member of the company’s board of directors, as its president, and as its chief operating officer.

At trial, the government submitted evidence that while at Theranos, Balwani conspired to commit wire fraud against investors between 2010 and 2015, conspired to commit wire fraud between 2013 and 2016 against patients who paid for Theranos’ blood testing services, and that he committed wire fraud against investors and patients.