Elizabeth Holmes' former partner and COO Sunny gets 13 years in Theranos case

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The verdicts in the trials of Holmes and Balwani were somewhat different. In contrast to Balwani, Holmes was found not guilty of many charges of deceiving and conspiring against persons who paid for Theranos blood tests that gave inaccurate findings and might have misdirected patients' care. In Holmes' trial, there was a deadlock on three of the charges.

Balwani was found guilty on all 12 felony counts, but his attorneys argued for a sentence of only four to 10 months in prison. Justice Department prosecutors requested a 15-year sentence, while a probation assessment recommended only nine years.

Federal prosecutors also want the judge to order Balwani to pay $804 million in restitution to investors who were deceived—the same amount asked of Holmes—to investors who were duped. Davila delayed a judgment on restitution until a later date, just as he did when he sentenced Holmes on November 18—when she was given 11 1/4 years in prison.

In court pleadings, Balwani's attorneys portrayed him as a diligent immigrant who came to the United States from India in the '80s. He earned an information systems degree from the University of Texas in 1990. Subsequently, he relocated to Silicon Valley, where he first worked for Microsoft as a computer programmer before starting an online firm that he later sold for millions of dollars during the dot-com boom of the 1990s.

Holmes and Balwani first became acquainted around the time she left Stanford University in 2003 to establish Theranos. He grew fascinated by her and her efforts to transform healthcare. Balwani invested roughly $5 million in a Theranos stock that was eventually valued at around $500 million on paper, according to Balwani's attorneys.

In a memo to the judge, Balwani's attorneys stated, "Mr. Balwani is not the same as Elizabeth Holmes. He actually invested millions of dollars of his own money; he never sought fame or recognition, and he has a long history of quietly giving to those less fortunate." Furthermore, Balwani's attorneys asserted, Holmes "was dramatically more culpable" for the Theranos fraud.

Balwani was portrayed by federal prosecutors as a vicious, power-hungry partner in crimes that defrauded investors and endangered those who obtained subpar results. Balwani worked with Walgreens to develop a collaboration that would make blood testing accessible.

"Balwani presented a fake story about Theranos' technology and financial stability day after day in meeting after meeting. Balwani maintained this façade of accomplishments, after making the calculated decision that honesty would destroy Theranos," prosecutors stated in their brief to the judge.