Yahoo TV

STORY: The former president of blood-testing startup Theranos has been sentenced to nearly 13 years in U.S. federal prison.

The sentencing of Ramesh Balwani – also known as ‘Sunny’ - for two counts of conspiracy and 10 counts of fraud comes after a jury in a San Jose courtroom convicted the 57-year-old in July.

Prosecutors said that Balwani conspired with his former business partner Elizabeth Holmes, of tricking Silicon Valley investors into thinking…

… Theranos had created small miniaturized machines that could accurately run a broad range of medical tests, with a few drops of blood from a finger prick--

--a portable method that could replace lab testing.

But secretly, the company relied on traditional methods to run tests, and provided patients with inaccurate results.

Balwani had joined Holmes, who started Theranos as a college student, and became her romantic partner.

They were each granted a separate trial, after Holmes said she would testify that Balwani was abusive in their relationship, which he denies.

Prosecutors said Balwani deserved a longer sentence than Holmes – who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in November – because he knew Theranos’ tests were inaccurate from overseeing the company’s laboratory operations…

But he decided to “prioritize Theranos’ financial health over patients’ real health”.

Balwani’s attorneys had asked for a sentence of probation, arguing Balwani sought to make the world a better place, and was not motivated by fame or greed.

Once valued at $9 billion, Theranos claimed to revolutionize medical diagnostics, with its small blood-testing machines envisioned for use in homes, drugstores and even on the battlefield.

The company collapsed in 2015, after an investigation by the Wall Street Journal.