Sunny Balwani, former president and chief operating officer of Theranos Inc., leaves federal court in San Jose, California, Oct. 2, 2019.
Michael Short | Bloomberg | Getty Images
He was the man behind the lab curtain at blood-testing start-up Theranos. Now he takes center stage in his own criminal fraud case.
Opening arguments in the trial of Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, former president and chief operating officer of Theranos, begin Wednesday in the San Jose federal courthouse, where a jury in January found Theranos ex-CEO Elizabeth Holmes, guilty of four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
A jury of six men and six women will decide the fate of Balwani, who has been charged with the same crimes as Holmes. Each carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. He pleaded not guilty.
While Holmes awaits sentencing in September, she could reemerge as a key witness against Balwani. In addition to serving as Theranos’ No. 2 executive, Balwani was Holmes’ boyfriend.
During her trial, Holmes accused Balwani of a pattern of sexual and psychological abuse, which “impacted everything about who I was,” she told the jury. Balwani has denied the allegations.
Reed Kathrein, an attorney who represented some investors in a lawsuit against Holmes and Theranos, told CNBC that Balwani was central to the Theranos ruse, which involved lying about the company’s technology and bilking shareholders out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Sunny ran everything, knew everything,” said…
