The ex-partner of disgraced Theranos laminitis Elizabeth Holmes has joined his accomplice successful being sentenced to much than a decennary successful prison.
Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani was jailed for astir 13 years for his relation successful the company's blood-testing hoax, which saw investors conned and patients enactment astatine hazard arsenic the brace enjoyed a beingness of fame and fortune.
It comes conscionable weeks aft Holmes, erstwhile described by Forbes arsenic America's youngest pistillate self-made billionaire, was told she would spend much than 11 years down bars for her relation successful a lawsuit that gripped the world.
Balwani, 57, was convicted successful July of fraud and conspiracy connected to the Silicon Valley firm's bogus aesculapian exertion that was sold arsenic being capable to trial for dozens of diseases with a driblet of blood.
He was main operating serviceman astatine Theranos and was romantically progressive with Holmes, the main executive, until their bitter divided successful 2016 aft revelations astir the institution archetypal emerged successful The Wall Street Journal.
During her trial, Holmes, present 38, accused Balwani of manipulating her done years of affectional and intersexual abuse, allegations his lawyer has denied.
In tribunal documents, his ineligible squad painted him arsenic a hard-working migrant who moved from India successful the 1980s - but prosecutors said helium "presented a fake story" astir Theranos's exertion aft "making the calculated determination that honesty would destroy" the company.
Read more:
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Who is 'Sunny' Balwani?
Balwani graduated from the University of Texas successful 1990 with a grade successful accusation systems.
He aboriginal moved to Silicon Valley, wherever helium archetypal worked arsenic a machine programmer for Microsoft earlier founding an online startup that helium sold for millions of dollars during the dot-com roar of the 1990s.
Upon gathering Holmes, who had dropped retired of Stanford University to prosecute her ambition to motorboat Theranos, helium rapidly became enthralled by her - conscionable arsenic the company's investors soon would.
Theranos was founded successful 2003, helped by Holmes redirecting household funds meant for her studies into the business.
Styling herself connected her idol Steve Jobs, the famed Apple co-founder, Holmes's steadfast took Silicon Valley by tempest connected the committedness of groundbreaking humor investigating exertion that attracted wealth from the likes of Rupert Murdoch and American pharmacy elephantine Walgreens.
Balwani's lawyers said helium invested $5m (£4m) successful a involvement that became worthy astir $500m (£411m) - a fraction of Holmes' one-time luck of $4.5bn (£3.6bn) and the firm's highest worth of $9bn (£7.4bn).
'He maintained a facade'
Prosecutors said Balwani was a consenting accomplice successful Holmes's lies astir Theranos's technology, and readily "maintained this facade of accomplishments" connected a regular ground for years.
He was depicted arsenic a ruthless, power-hungry figure, arsenic they sought to unafraid a condemnation connected a twelve charges.
While Holmes was acquitted connected respective counts of defrauding and conspiring against radical who paid for Theranos's humor tests, Balwani was recovered blameworthy connected each 12 of his.
Balwani's lawyers had asserted that Holmes "was dramatically much culpable" for the fraud.
"He really invested millions of dollars of his ain money; helium ne'er sought fame oregon recognition; and helium has a agelong past of softly giving to those little fortunate," they said.
Balwani "has mislaid his career, his reputation, and his quality to meaningfully enactment again", they added, having been portrayed successful assorted media astir the ungraded - including an acclaimed TV play series.
Prosecutors privation Holmes and Balwani to wage $804m (£660m) each to defrauded investors.
The justice deferred a determination connected that during Holmes' sentencing until an unspecified aboriginal date.
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