Rames “Sunny” Balwani leaves court after conviction
(Picture: Getty Images)Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, Elizabeth Holmes’ former partner and Theranos executive, has been found guilty of fraud.
A California jury found Balwani guilty on all 12 felony counts of defrauding investors and patients, who relied on the disastrous blood-testing kits falsely advertised by the Silicon Valley billion-dollar company.
Balwani collaborated with disgraced Theranos chief executive Holmes and was also her romantic partner at one point.
She was found guilty of four counts of investor fraud and conspiracy earlier this year after a 15-week trial. During her trial she tearfully claimed Balwani sexually and emotionally abused her.
Lawyers for Balwani have denied the allegations.
Both Holmes, 38, and Balwani, 57, face up to 20 years behind bars.
Holmes is scheduled to be sentenced on September 26 and Balwani on November 15.
During closing arguments of Balwani’s case at Robert F. Peckham Federal Building, prosecutors showed text messages sent by Balwani to Holmes.
"I am responsible for everything at Theranos," he wrote in 2015. "All have been my decisions too."
Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey Schenk called the message an admission of guilt. "He’s acknowledging his role in the fraud," he said.
Theranos, a $9 billion (£7.5bn) company at one point, and one which employed more than 800 staff at its peak, claimed to have a game-changing device for blood testing.
But patients were misdiagnosed and investors lost out in a scandal that highlighted the problems surrounding Silicon Valley start-ups.
It was set up by Holmes after she dropped out of Stanford University aged 19.
