The two instigators of the Theranos fraud will go to prison. This Wednesday, December 7, Ramesh Balwani, nicknamed Sunny, was sentenced by an American federal judge to spend 155 months, or approximately 13 years, behind bars for fraud following the Theranos affair. He held the position of director of operations within the company run by his ex-partner Elisabeth Holmes. Ramesh Balwani was found guilty last July of 12 counts of fraud against him in a separate trial.
The Theranos affair had rocked the United States for years. Elizabeth Holmes, who conquered Silicon Valley and MedTech with her medical analysis project, quickly made a name for herself in the country. But upon drawing the spotlight on her, reporters discovered that her entire business was based on a lie since the technology she promised doesn’t exist. An earthquake across the Atlantic where the start-up had reached a valuation of more than 10 billion dollars.
Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison last month. A decision that she contests by appealing.