Tausi Insider

Elizabeth Holmes urged a U.S. judge not to send her to prison, as the founder of Theranos Inc prepares to be sentenced next week for defrauding investors in the blood testing start-up. In a Thursday night court filing, lawyers for Holmes asked that she receive 18 months in home confinement, followed by community service, at her Nov. 18 sentencing before U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California. The lawyers said prison time was unnecessary to deter future wrongdoing, calling the 38-year-old Holmes a “singular human with much to give” and not the robotic, emotionless “caricature” seen by the public and media. “No defendant should be made a martyr to public passion,” the lawyers wrote. “We ask that the court consider, as it must, the real person, the real company and the complex circumstances surrounding the offense.” Prosecutors are expected to file their sentencing recommendation soon. A jury convicted Holmes in January on four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy. Eac...

Former Theranos executive Ramesh Balwani walks into federal court in San Jose, Calif., on June 24. Michael Liedtke/The Associated Press Former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 13 years in prison for his role in the company’s blood-testing hoax – a punishment slightly longer than that given to the CEO, who was his lover and accomplice in one of Silicon Valley’s biggest scandals. Balwani, 57, was convicted in July of fraud and conspiracy connected to the company’s bogus medical technology that duped investors and endangered patients. His sentencing came less than three weeks after Elizabeth Holmes, the company’s 38-year-old founder and CEO, received more than 11 years in prison for her part in the scheme, which has been dissected in a book, an HBO documentary and an award-winning TV series. Balwani’s sentence was less than the 15 years sought by federal prosecutors, who depicted him as a ruthless, power-hungry figure. But it is substantially l...