Theranos’ former chief operating officer, Indian-origin Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani, has been sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for fraud that prosecutors said risked patient health and defrauded the blood testing company’s investors of millions of dollars.

In a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Balwani risked patient health by misrepresenting the accuracy of Theranos blood analysis technology and that defrauded Theranos investors of millions of dollars.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, imposed the sentence on Balwani, who was convicted by a jury on two counts of conspiracy and 10 counts of fraud in July.

"Ramesh Balwani, in a desire to become a Silicon Valley titan, valued business success and personal wealth far more than patient safety.

In addition to the 155 months prison term, US District Judge Edward Davila sentenced Balwani to three years of supervision following release from prison.

A hearing to determine the amount of restitution to be paid by Balwani is to be scheduled in the future. Balwani was ordered to surrender on March 15, 2023, to begin serving his prison sentence.

Balwani was employed from September 2009 through July 2016 at the Palo Alto-based blood testing company founded in 2003 by his former girlfriend Elizabeth Holmes, once touted as Silicon Valley’s rising star.

Balwani and Holmes asserted that the Theranos proprietary analyzer produced results that were cheaper, more reliable and less variable than existing methods, and obtained results at a speed faster than ever before possible.