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Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the ex-boyfriend and former business partner of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, has been convicted of 12 fraud-related charges.
The charges stem from his time as operating chief at Theranos.
His conviction follows Holmes’ conviction on 4 counts of fraud and conspiracy in January.
Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the ex-boyfriend and former business partner of Elizabeth Holmes, has been convicted on criminal fraud charges stemming from his time at failed blood-testing startup Theranos, according to multiple media reports.
A jury of five men and seven women convicted Balwani on all 12 charges on Thursday after five days of deliberation in federal court in San Jose.
Balwani had been charged with 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
His conviction follows Holmes’ conviction in January on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, following a monthslong trial.
Balwani and Holmes met on a 2002 trip to Beijing that was part of a summer Mandarin immersion program run by Stanford University. He was 37 years old at the time, and Holmes was 18. They became romantically involved around the time Holmes dropped out of Stanford at 19 to focus on Theranos. Balwani joined Theranos as president and COO in 2009 and departed in 2016, as Theranos faced scrutiny over its lab practices and dubious test results.
His defense largely pointed the finger at Holmes throughout his trial, which cycled through many of the same witnesses who took the stand in Holmes’ case.
Like Holmes, he faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a requirement to pay restitution for each count on which he was convicted.
Holmes accused Balwani of abusing her during their relationship when she testified in her trial, allegations which Balwani’s attorneys have denied. She was not a witness in Balwani’s trial.
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