Washington, United States, December 8, 2008 (ANI): Ramesh Balwani, an ex-executive of Theranos’ US health technology company, was sentenced to 11 years and 11 months in federal jail for Fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that Balwani had misrepresented the accuracy of Theranos’ blood analysis technology as well as the de frauded Theranos’ investors of millions of money. U.S. attorney Stephanie Hinds stated that patient health is a top priority for our healthcare system. Silicon Valley has been home to many healthcare start-ups that improve the care of patients using technological developments. “Ramesh Balwani was driven to be a Silicon Valley giant and valued his business success more than patient safety. Balwani chose deceit over honesty with patients in need for medical care and he treated his shareholders no better,” Hinds said. Robert Tripp, FBI Special Agent in Charge, stated that Balwani not just deliberately concealed flaws in Theranos blood-testing technology to mislead the investors but also knowingly put patients’ health at risk.
Tripp said, “Today’s sentence is a reflection of years of dedication by FBI and our partners in investigating fraud within Theranos”
Balwani, 57, is a Fremont, Calif. resident. He was employed at Theranos, Inc. from September 2009 to July 2016.
Theranos was a blood testing company based out of Palo Alto and Newark in California. It was founded by Balwani’s ex-love partner Elizabeth Holmes, 38. Theranos technology was not validated by any major pharmaceutical companies. In fact, Balwani, Holmes, and Holmes continued to promote Theranos’ analyzer, misrepresenting Theranos financial situation. (ANI)
