Former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani found out his fate on Wednesday when a judge decided what punishment he'll face five months after being convicted of fraud and conspiracy.
As the Associated Press reported, a judge sentenced Balwani to nearly 13 years in prison. The sentence was slightly longer than that given to the CEO, who was said to be his lover and accomplice. The case was one of Silicon Valley’s biggest scandals.
Balwani, the company's former COO, was found guilty on July 7 of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the Washington Post reported.
His sentencing comes three weeks after the failed blood-testing company's founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, was sentenced to 11 years and three months for defrauding investors.
Holmes, who is also Balwani's ex-girlfriend, was found guilty in January of three counts of wire fraud, the Associated Press reported. Prosecutors wanted the 38-year-old to be sentenced to 20 years, which a judge could sentence him to, the news outlet said.
The news outlets reported that things began to unravel for Theranos in 2015 after the Wall Street Journal published an investigative piece about how the company's blood-testing machine didn't work and produced inaccurate test results.
The company folded after Holmes and Balwani left it in 2018, The Post reported.
Holmes, expecting her second child, was ordered to turn herself into the authorities on April 27, 2023.
