Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani has been sentenced to 12 years and 11 months in jail for his part in the Theranos hoax.
Balwani, 57, was on Wednesday sentenced after being found guilty in July of two counts of conspiracy and 10 counts of fraud over his role in the blood-testing startup Theranos’s fraudulent claims.
It marks an end to the stunning downfall of a high-flying Silicon Valley company that resulted in the rare convictions of two tech executives.
United States District Judge Edward Davila deferred a decision on a request by prosecutors for Balwani to be ordered to pay $804m in restitution – the same amount sought from Holmes – to a later hearing.
“There is an unfortunate saying in Silicon Valley: ‘Fake it ‘til you make it.’ Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani stretched this idea to a place much farther than the law allows and in so doing put vast amounts of investor dollars at risk,” said Stephanie Hinds, US Attorney for the Northern District of California, in a statement.
“Significantly, today the court also made clear that Sunny Balwani’s decision to deceive doctors and patients also put the health of patients at risk. Ms. Holmes and Mr. Balwani now will be justly punished for their illegal conduct.”
Hinds added, “Let this story be a cautionary tale for entrepreneurs in this district: Those who use lies to cover up the shortfalls of their promised accomplishments risk substantial jail time.”
Balwani’s sentence comes less than a month after Theranos founder and former CEO Holmes was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for her role in the scandal, which cast a light on the pitfalls of Silicon Valley’s culture of boundless ambition and cutthroat competition.
