Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the former chief operating officer of Theranos who promised to revolutionize blood tests, was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison on Wednesday, December 7, even more than his former companion Elizabeth Holmes, who founded the startup. fallen Californian.
Ramesh Balwani, tried in a separate trial, was found guilty in July of all counts of defrauding the company’s investors and patients. The startup’s former number two was sentenced to 155 months in prison on Wednesday, according to a decision made by a US federal judge.
Founded in 2003, Theranos promised to invent a machine that could perform hundreds of blood tests from a single drop of blood taken from a finger. Thanks to this revolutionary project, the startup caused the enthusiasm of many businessmen and high-ranking figures, including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis or media mogul Rupert Murdoch. But he had fallen when Wall Street Journal In 2015, it turned out that the technology never worked as expected.
Ramesh Balwani’s sentencing comes a month after Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison in mid-November. A ruling he has appealed. Ramesh Balwani’s ex-girlfriend had become a star in Silicon Valley thanks to an elaborate story and looks that earned her the trust of investors. During Theranos’ watch, the two lovers, who were initially sued together but eventually tried separately, raised hundreds of millions of dollars in funds.
At its peak, their startup was valued at nearly $10 billion.
Source: Le Figaro
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