Elizabeth Holmes has been making headlines as the fallen former Theranos founder and CEO begins her extended stay at a prison in Bryan, Texas this month. The young entrepreneur, once touted as her generation’s Steve Jobs, is now facing an eleven-year sentence over four federal charges. Yet her company’s downfall was apparently not hers alone, as not only did she bring her former boyfriend and COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani along for the ride, she actually blamed him for the company’s demise. She cut ties with him early in the proceedings and left him to face his charges alone.
Yet in many people’s eyes, she was still the star of the show, so while her court proceedings were followed closely by news and media outlets, Balwani’s seemed to fall to the wayside. So what exactly happened to him? We collected the proceedings from Sunny’s side of the story, and here’s what we found out about the former Theranos COO and lover of Elizabeth Holmes.
Recommended VideosSunny Balwani, now 57, met Elizabeth Holmes, now 38 when she was only 18 years old. He was 37 at the time, and had just sold an online company for a reported $40 million and shares. The two continued to talk on and off for a few years, and developed a close relationship. So close in fact, that when Holmes dropped out of Stanford at 19 to form her company Theranos, she asked Sunny to help her.
The concept was a medical device that would change the face of medical testing as we know it. The claim was that the machines created could run multiple medical and even genetic tests, from a single drop of blood. The technology was reportedly groundbreaking and if effective, would, replace the currently used antiquated blood testing technology forever. Elizabeth formed her company in 2003, which is reportedly when the two began dating, but Sunny did not officially sign on until 2009. He invested a cool $13 million into the company and was made the Chief Operating Officer of Theranos, with Elizabeth remaining the Chief Experiential Officer, founder, and major shareholder.
From there, the power couple’s personal and professional relationship reportedly continued to grow. The two kept their personal involvement hidden from investors, however, an issue that would come into later court proceedings. The couple’s love story and demise would also later be portrayed in the Hulu original series The Dropout. In the meantime, the company skyrocketed and eventually became worth $9 billion. Holmes herself became worth a reported $45 billion.
Yet within the next few years, things began to fall apart and by 2018, the jig was up. The medical tests conducted by Theranos were proven inaccurate, and some of the testing was apparently not even run on Theranos technology but rather on the older machines the company claimed they were putting out of business. In short, the machines didn’t work, and they never had. It was a huge scandal and caused the company’s stock to plummet. Almost overnight Holmes’ net worth dropped to $0, and the company went down in value from $9 billion to only $800 million. Eventually, the company would dissolve and liquidate completely.
Yet the end of the company was just the beginning of Holmes and Balwani’s troubles. In 2018 the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) had gotten involved and federal charges were forthcoming. The two began to turn on each other. Balwani claimed he represented the company to the best of his knowledge, saying as far as he knew, the machines worked and the tests were valid. While that is not directly pointing a finger at Holmes, the fact that she was complicit in that deceit was implied. Holmes, however, took it a step further and not only hinted at Sunny’s involvement, she pointed the finger straight at him. Holmes alleged that she had been in a decade-long abusive relationship with Sunny, and that his manipulation and control had caused her to make the decisions she had. The two went their separate ways both personally and professionally, as their trials and lives split.
Elizabeth’s trials took a winding road to prosecution, as COVID struck, then two pregnancies added additional delays to her trial. Eventually, she was convicted of four counts out of the eleven initial charges. She was charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of wire fraud. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Sunny, however, was found guilty on all 12 of the charges he faced. These charges were 10 counts of federal wire fraud, and two of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His conviction of these charges landed him a sentence of 13 years in prison, according to Forbes. Sunny turned himself into prison in California in April of 2023 as requested. According to his attorney, he turned himself in “smoothly and without incident,” yet he reveals they will continue to fight the conviction.
It’s going to be a long road to freedom for Sunny Balwani, who ended up being convicted of more charges and facing more prison time than the Theranos founder and Queen Bee herself. Not to mention, Sunny was one of the key investors in Theranos, leaving him $13 million short when the company went belly-up. Talk about getting the short end of the stick! Yet his punishment appears well-deserved, as stories of Theranos’ dirty deeds continue to circulate in documentaries, TV drama series, and the media. It’s no wonder, too, as Sunny Balwani’s is not only a twisted tale of corporate greed, but it has all the elements of love, betrayal, and intrigue that make for great TV, but as he learned the hard way, a not-so-great life.
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