Start of the trial of “Sunny” Balwani, ex-chief operating officer of Theranos


F (GETTY IMAGES/AFP/Archives/JUSTIN SULLIVAN)

The trial of Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, ex-director of operations of the start-up Theranos, which promised to revolutionize blood tests, and former companion of its founder Elizabeth Holmes, began Tuesday in federal court in San José (California). ).

Mr Balwani, 56, is notably accused of defrauding investors and patients of the company, which collapsed after a series of embarrassing revelations.

He pleaded not guilty to all counts.

The trial was supposed to start earlier in the year, but had been repeatedly pushed back due to the wave of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, then a case of Covid-19 in someone who took part in the jury selection process. .

The prosecution intends to demonstrate that Mr. Balwani and Ms. Holmes acted in concert to defraud the financial supporters and customers of the start-up.

“You will see how much of a partner they were in everything, including their misdeeds,” said US government prosecutor Robert Leach in his opening remarks.

“Mr. Balwani had no medical degree and no experience in manufacturing medical equipment,” Mr. Leach added. “What he had was a connection to Elizabeth Holmes, whose companion he was.”

On the contrary, the defense seeks to distinguish the roles of Ms. Holmes and Mr. Balwani in order to minimize the latter’s involvement in the choices made by the start-up.

“He did not create Theranos, he never controlled Theranos and he was not the one who made the final decisions at Theranos,” insisted Stephen Cazares, Mr. Balwani’s lawyer.

Cazares also pointed out that his client himself invested $10 million in Theranos in 2009 “because he believed in the business idea, not because Elizabeth Holmes was his girlfriend.”

Theranos startup founder Elizabeth Holmes (c) in federal court in San Jose, California on January 3, 2022

Theranos start-up founder Elizabeth Holmes (c) in federal court in San Jose, California on January 3, 2022 (AFP/Archives/Nick Otto)

Ms Holmes had recruited Mr Balwani, who was almost twice her age at the time, to help run the start-up she founded in 2003, aged just 19.

Theranos claimed to perform blood tests using a few drops of blood taken without a needle. The leaders of the start-up are accused of knowingly misleading investors about the effectiveness and reliability of the technology.

Figures like media mogul Rupert Murdoch, diplomat Henry Kissinger and General James Mattis had publicly shown their support for the company.

The start-up began a dizzying fall after a series of Wall Street Journal articles exposing Theranos’ broken promises and lies.

Ms. Holmes was convicted in January of defrauding Theranos investors and will serve her sentence at the end of September. She faces decades in prison and remains in the meantime on bail.

© 2022 AFP

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