Prosecutors described Balwani as an “equal participant” in helping Theranos defraud investors of more than $900mn in funding — which gave the company a valuation of $9 billion — on the promise its technology could carry out a range of tests on a single drop of blood.
“There is an unfortunate phrase in Silicon Valley: ‘fake it ‘til you make it’,” US attorney Stephanie Hinds said after the sentencing. “Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani stretched this idea to a place much further than the law allows.” “I am responsible for everything at Theranos,” Balwani once wrote in a text message to Holmes, according to court filings from the prosecution. Holmes later claimed during her trial that she had been emotionally and sexually abused by Balwani — claims he has denied.
“Balwani had a front-row seat to numerous problems that put him on notice that Theranos tests were not suitable for clinical use,” prosecutors wrote.