In a deposition acquired by ABC for the podcast, “The Dropout,” Holmes said at one point, “Once we started working together it was a very intense relationship and that romantic piece that was there at the very beginning died. [28], Balwani was in a romantic relationship with Elizabeth Holmes during his tenure at Theranos. Threatens Crippling Sanctions", "She was 'the next Steve Jobs'. Sunny Balwani, Elizabeth Holmes’s alleged partner in crime, says he couldn’t have defrauded investors because he never made any money. Ramesh Balwani is the former president and chief operating officer of Theranos, which was a privately held health technology company founded by Elizabeth Holmes. [15] Edison machines frequently failed quality-control checks and produced widely varying results, a finding that was corroborated in a report released in March 2016 by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Evans now works at a startup called Luminar Technology, as a Manager of Special Projects, per his LinkedIn. She and the company's former president, Sunny Balwani, are due to go on trial in San Jose, California in March. Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani is the former COO of Theranos, as well as the former lover of Theranos CEO and founder Elizabeth Holmes. Theranos claimed to have devised a revolutionary blood tests that used very small amounts of blood such as that which can be extracted from a fingerstick. [31], Former president and chief operating officer of Theranos, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, "When Theranos' remarkable blood-test claims began to unravel: 'The Dropout' episode 5", "Indian-American ex prez, Theranos CEO charged with 'massive fraud, "U.S. In 1986 Balwani began undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin where he was a member of the Pakistani Students Association. signet ring on a necklace and the couple regularly post stories on Instagram professing their love for each other. Sunny Balwani leaving court in January 2019 | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images. [18], The other charges of fraud against Theranos include claiming the company's technology was being used by the U.S. Department of Defense in combat situations despite never having been used. All About Elizabeth Holmes's Ex-Boyfriend and Former Theranos President", "SEC accuses Theranos of 'elaborate, years-long fraud, "Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes indicted on criminal charges", "Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, top deputy ordered to stand...", "Elizabeth Holmes' criminal trial delayed due to coronavirus", "Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes to face trial separate from ex-lover", "Theranos's Former President Has a Jaw-Dropping Explanation for Why He's Innocent", "Elizabeth Holmes & Sunny Balwani's Confusing Relationship, Explained", "Theranos, founder Elizabeth Holmes charged with fraud by SEC", "Sunny Balwani Played an Important Role in the Elizabeth Holmes Theranos Story", "(video) Ramesh Balwani gives presentation. Both Holmes and Balwani were indicted on wire fraud charges in June, 2018. Sunny Balwani, also known as Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, was indicted along with former lover Elizabeth Holmes on several charges related to his work at Theranos. View the profiles of people named Sunny Balwani. [9] In 1999, the company was purchased by Commerce One, another business development software company with a high valuation. Science — Beyond business: Disgraced Theranos bloodied family, friends, neighbors Personal stories shed light on the infamous biotech’s business strategies and culture. [9] He spent another four years in a computer science graduate program at Stanford University, but dropped out in 2008. Powered by. Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani is seen here during an August 2017 deposition. John Hayward 13 May 2016. Who is Sunny Balwani? @BethMarieMole will have the story for @arstechnica soon. [12][13], Balwani joined Theranos in 2009. Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani (left) and Elizabeth Holmes (right) are seen here during their 2017 depositions with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Obtained by ABC News) "I think it was about $20 million." [25] Balwani's trial will begin after the conclusion of Holmes's. According to the book, they began living together by July 2005. 2 executive. [11], Balwani publicly equated the Edison, Theranos' blood testing device, with the discovery of antibiotics. [24] In March 2020, a U.S. District Court Judge ordered that Balwani will stand trial separately from Holmes. [11] Fujimoto and Balwani lived in San Francisco before their divorce in December 2002. Shortly after, DailyMail reported the identity of Holmes’ mysterious fiance: William “Billy” Evans, a hotel heir who graduated from MIT in 2015 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and Economics. Balwani is now awaiting his trial, the date of which has not been set. He was described by former Theranos employees as overbearing, uncompromising and so concerned about industrial espionage that he verged on paranoia. A new HBO documentary investigates the rise and collapse of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. But here are a few screenshots of her and her fiancé we found online. Elizabeth Anne Holmes (born February 3, 1984) is a former American businesswoman who founded and was the CEO of Theranos, a now-defunct health technology company. In 2018, Theranos was shut down for good by the FBI. [23] In June 2019 a U.S. District Court judge ordered Balwani and Holmes to stand trial beginning in July 2020. The judge overseeing the criminal case against Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani on Monday delayed setting a … But an eagle-eyed source pointed us to video of him promoting the blood-testing startup. [9], Balwani worked for Lotus Software and Microsoft before 1998, when he helped to create CommerceBid,[10] a software development company that helped businesses buy and sell items over the burgeoning Internet. They reportedly had a romance. 2 executive, is a virtual ghost online. Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani was born and raised in India, and came to the U.S. in 1986, and eventually became a software engineer for Lotus and Microsoft. 3. Sunny Balwani, the former chief operating officer and president of Theranos, will fight the criminal fraud charges against him, his attorney told CNBC on Monday. Files Criminal Charges Against Theranos's Elizabeth Holmes, Ramesh Balwani", "The Blood Unicorn Theranos Was Just a Fairy Tale", "Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes and Former COO Sunny Balwani Charged with Wire Fraud", "Tech: The rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos", "Investigators say his fingerprints are all over financial crimes at Theranos. Begins at 1:20", The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ramesh_Balwani&oldid=1007611926, American businesspeople of Indian descent, American businesspeople of Pakistani descent, University of California, Berkeley alumni, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 February 2021, at 01:20. For everyone asking about Holmes's social media. Previously he worked for Lotus Software and Microsoft prior to the founding of CommerceBid. She wears his M.I.T. News of Holmes’ new and serious relationship was first reported by Vanity Fair in February, when the publication announced Holmes was in a relationship: Holmes is currently living in San Francisco in a luxury apartment. (I personally find it crazy that she's being charged with 11 felony counts, thousands of people's lives were harmed, and she's as happy as can be.) I don’t think it happened in one moment, but it was very clear we were colleagues.”. [27], He was married to Japanese artist Keiko Fujimoto. Elizabeth Holmes’ attorneys are worried that evidence of the disgraced Theranos founder’s luxe lifestyle could inflame “class prejudice” against her Where is Sunny Balwani now? Holmes and her former boyfriend, ex-Theranos president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, are accused of falsely claiming Theranos machines could perform myriad tests with a single drop of blood. Balwani was charged by federal authorities for operating the business as a multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud investors, doctors, and patients. The buyout was done entirely with stock,[9] and Balwani joined the board of the new company. ", "Commerce One Buys Commercebid for Stock and Cash", Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, "21 Surprising Facts About Billionaire Entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes", "Hot Startup Theranos Has Struggled With Its Blood-Test Technology", "Theranos Whistleblower Shook the Company—and His Family", "Here's what Theranos customers need to know", "Theranos Under Fire as U.S. [11], The Wall Street Journal reported in October 2015 that the Edison blood testing device by Theranos produced inaccurate medical diagnoses and results. AS per personal life, he was married to Keiko Fujimoto, whom he divorced in 2014. Sunny Balwani Now: Where Is Sunny Balwani Today? He was 19 years older than Holmes and married at the time. ( Updates to describe information sought from clinic starting in third paragraph. The death toll is roughly the equivalent of the entire population of countries like Slovenia or Bahrain. Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh Balwani have been criminally indicted. It's private. Though Holmes’ lawyers did not give a statement at the time, via The New York Times, Balwani’s layers said Balwani was “innocent and looks forward to clearing his name at trial.”. Science Insider. Holmes's trial is scheduled to start in October 2020. She is denying the charges but faces 20 years in prison if convicted. Join Facebook to connect with Sunny Balwani and others you may know. [26] Balwani's attorneys were expected to argue that he never made any money for his work at Theranos. Why is he a virtual ghost? While they both wait for their respective trial dates, Balwani’s location is unknown, but Holmes’ location is known. [17] CMS regulators proposed a two-year ban on Balwani from owning or operating a blood lab after the company had not fixed problems within its California lab in March 2016. In July 2000, Balwani sold his shares in Commerce One, netting nearly $40 million shortly before the company went out of business, just before the dot com bubble burst. [1][7] The family moved to India,[1] and later immigrated to the United States. Balwani was born in Pakistan to a Hindu family but was raised in India. Theranos soared in valuation after the company claimed to have revolutionized blood testing by developing testing methods that could use surprisingly small volumes of blood, such as from a fingerprick. In 2005, Holmes hired Gibbons and took his patents with help from her then-boyfriend, Sunny Balwani [in 2009 he joined Theranos -- quickly rising to chief operating officer of Theranos]," said Fuisz. [14] Within Theranos, Balwani was known for using technical terms he seemingly did not understand in what others believed were attempts to appear more knowledgeable. Sunny Balwani Now: Where Is Sunny Balwani Today? His family later immigrated to the United States and in … Copyright © 2021 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Theranos had an indemnity agreement with Holmes and Sunny Balwani, the company’s C.O.O., with whom she had been romantically involved. A trial was set to begin in October 2020,[4][5] but has been pushed back to March 9, 2021 due to COVID-19 concerns. Ramesh Sunny Balwani, 18-cv-01603, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose). [9], While enrolled at Berkeley, Balwani met Elizabeth Holmes, who was in her senior year of high school. The company was eventually forced into bankruptcy. [19], Another false claim included claiming a $100 million revenue stream in 2014 that was actually $100,000. Per the indictment, Balwani and Holmes were accused of making “false and misleading statements to investors,” across a number of topics. [3] Starting in 2015, Theranos came under criticism in the media due to its questionable claims and practices. Fortune smiled upon Balwani, and he joined a startup named CommerceBid.com as president and No. She’s engaged to a younger hospitality heir, who also works in tech. Elizabeth Holmes's boyfriend and business partner was also a major investor in the company. [21] He says he is innocent of the charges. [23] Prosecutors allege that Holmes and Balwani engaged in two criminal schemes, one to defraud investors, the other to defraud doctors and patients. Now, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is charged with fraud", "Blood, Fraud and Money Led to Theranos CEO's Fall From Grace", "Who Is Sunny Balwani? The Department of Justice just charged Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and former Theranos president Sunny Balwani with nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Read the indictment here: https://t.co/K98GBrlDNH, — Cyrus Farivar (@cfarivar) June 15, 2018. As of 2018, his net worth is under review. (They are no longer dating.) [6], Ramesh Balwani was born in Pakistan to a Sindhi Hindu family. He ran the company's day-to-day operations as its president. Sunny Balwani, Theranos's former No. [8][9] He received an undergraduate degree in information systems. She reliably looks “chirpy” and “chipper.” She’s also abandoned the black-turtleneck look and now dresses in athleisure, the regrettable attire of our age. Following the indictment, Balwani’s lawyer offered up a larger statement to Vanity Fair: “In over 28 years of practicing law, as both a federal prosecutor and a defense attorney, I have never seen a case like this one, where the government brings a criminal prosecution against a defendant who obtained no financial benefit and lost millions of dollars of his own money. [20], In March 2018, Balwani and Holmes were charged by the SEC with securities fraud, "raising more than $700 million from investors through an elaborate, years-long fraud in which they exaggerated or made false statements about the company's technology, business, and financial performance". https://t.co/xazDRrlxuz, There is intense speculation over when, and for how long, Balwani and Holmes were romantically involved, especially given the charges laid against them regarding their work together at Theranos. [29] Their relationship was not disclosed to their Theranos investors. Mr. Balwani is innocent, and looks forward to clearing his name at trial.”. Balwani's case is being handled separately. pic.twitter.com/6nYfjltLt4, — Nick Bilton (@nickbilton) February 21, 2019. | Heavy.com But the company was never able to deliver on its promise, and Holmes, along with Theranos COO Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, were indicted in June 2018 for wire fraud and conspiracy. By Maya Kosof f June 20, 2018 ... Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, executives at Theranos, are fighting charges that they defrauded investors and patients by covering up huge issues with their blood-testing technology. She and Balwani were originally indicted in June 2018. Holmes and her former partner, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, have been charged with 11 criminal felony counts and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He did not defraud consumers, but instead worked tirelessly to empower them with access to their own health information. Mr. Balwani committed no crimes. [29][30] Holmes met him in 2002 at age 18, while still in school. [14] He had no training in biological sciences or medical devices,[14] which became an issue due to the absence of medical experts on the company's board of directors and Balwani's behavior. [11] Holmes pursued an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at Stanford,[11] but later dropped out to focus full-time on Theranos. Theranos President Sunny Balwani Resigns as Federal Investigations Heat Up AFP/File Franck Fife. [16] In April 2016, Theranos told regulators it had voided all test results from Edison machines for 2014 and 2015, as well as some other tests it ran on conventional machines. Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani (born June 13, 1965[2]) is a Pakistani businessman who is the former president and chief operating officer of Theranos, which was a privately held health technology company founded by his then-girlfriend Elizabeth Holmes. He did not defraud Theranos investors, who were among the most sophisticated in the world. [9][11] He later went back to school and received a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley in 2003. Per Elle Magazine, Holmes is living in San Francisco in a luxury high-rise with her fiance, William “Billy” Evans. [21] Holmes settled the case out of court without admitting or denying wrongdoing, but Balwani is still in litigation as of 2019. [16], In January 2016, the CMS sent a warning letter to Theranos after inspecting its Newark, California, laboratory. Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani (born June 13, 1965) is a Pakistani businessman who is the former president and chief operating officer of Theranos, which was a privately held health technology company founded by his then-girlfriend Elizabeth Holmes.Theranos claimed to have devised a revolutionary blood tests that used very small amounts of blood such as that which can be … [21][22], On June 15, 2018, following an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco that lasted more than two years, a federal grand jury indicted president Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani and Elizabeth Holmes on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors June 15 indicted Elizabeth Holmes and her former Indian American Chief Operating Officer Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani on criminal fraud charges, for … Before its … Holmes' trial is scheduled for March 2021.