Ex-Theranos COO Sunny Balwani Sentencing Updates

Theranos' former chief operating officer Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani was sentenced to 13 years in prison. He was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in July.

The sentencing for Balwani comes less than three weeks after Elizabeth Holmes, the company’s founder and CEO, received more than 11 years in prison for her role in the scheme. Holmes will be required to surrender April 27, 2023, allowing her to give birth and bond with her newborn child.

Former Theranos president and COO, Sunny Balwani, is expected to be sentenced Wednesday. Here's a look at how the process is developing so far.

NBC Bay Area's Scott Budman will be providing updates from the courtroom. Check it out below:

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...Balwani is staring straight ahead. Has not looked at his family yet.

Judge set surrender date of March 15.
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#BREAKING: Sunny Balwani has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

...the judge says Sunny Balwani and Elizabeth Holmes knew there was fraud, but continued to perpetuate the fraud.

"They misled investors, they misled patients."

(Reminder: Holmes got a 11 year, 3 month sentence).
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

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...judge says the Theranos story did not end with a big successful campus, but instead inside a courtroom.
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: Judge Davila is about to sentence Sunny Balwani.

Says he's read the letters of support, and has considered the evidence.

Says Elizabeth Holmes "is part of this case, but is not part of this sentence..."
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: Balwani's attorney stands up, and says his client will not speak.
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

...the defense also says (in something of an understatement) that Balwani will not be starting any tech companies in the near future.

Says "he's radioactive because of this affair."
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: Final statement from Balwani's defense attorney:
"This is a decision that affects a real human being. Mr. Balwani did not join Theranos because he was trying to defraud anyone. His story is a classic America success story."
Mentions that he performs charitable acts.
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: Prosecutor: Patients made medical decisions based on faulty Theranos lab results.
Called those results a "horror," that the Balwani sentence should take into account.
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: We're getting close to sentencing.

The prosecution says Sunny Balwani deserves a sentence of 15 years in prison.

Says "white collar crime can and should be deterred."
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: We're back, and it starts badly for Sunny Balwani.

Judge Davila says the sentencing range is 11 years, 3 months (this what Holmes got for her sentence) to 14 years.
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

OK…
They’re bringing up text messages between Sunny Balwani and Elizabeth Holmes.
Remember this one? pic.twitter.com/1kjRUJpqY7
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: Prosecution: "There was a complicated relationship between Sunny Balwani and Elizabeth Holmes. Sometimes she was leading, sometimes he was leading" Theranos.
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: Surprise - Balwani defense brings up media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who invested $125 million into Theranos (b/c of Elizabeth Holmes).

Says, "We have no idea why Rupert Murdoch invested in Theranos...because of that, the government has not met its burden of proof."
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: Balwani's defense team trying to separate their client from the company, and its CEO:
"Mr. Balwani is in a very different situation than Ms. Holmes."

-Saying he left Theranos before it went out of business, and that he was just an investor in the company.
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: Now Judge Davila is going through objections put forward by Balwani's legal team.
Some from Theranos employee testimony, some involving Elizabeth Holmes.

He's overruling them, one by one.
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: As we wait in the courtroom for the sentencing to begin, the buzz is about how Elizabeth Holmes got sentenced to 11.25 years in prison after being found guilty on 4 counts.

Balwani was found guilty on all 12 counts.#Theranos
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Update: We are now inside the courtroom.
Balwani is here; he is speaking to a few people, thanking them for coming.
(The first we’ve heard him speak through the whole trial). pic.twitter.com/AZA5m2NwZA
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#Breaking: Sunny Balwani has arrived at Federal Court for his sentencing.
His former partner Elizabeth Holmes got 11.25 years.

I’ll tweet updates from inside the courtroom.#Theranos pic.twitter.com/Hx2QAMHuzJ
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022

#New: Outside Federal Court in San Jose, waiting on the sentencing of former #Theranos COO (and partner of Elizabeth Holmes) Sunny Balwani.
Holmes was sentenced to 11.25 years.
Balwani..?
I’ll tweet out updates from the courtroom. pic.twitter.com/UimPb5Eisk
— scott budman (@scottbudman) December 7, 2022