Federal prosecutors solicit impact statements from victims of Theranos fraud
SAN JOSE -- As the weeks countdown to the sentencing of Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani in the notorious Silicon Valley Theranos fraud case, federal prosecutors have issued a public plea and set up an online form for victim impact statements.
During the separate trials of the former Theranos top executives, prosecutors told the court that there were dozens who were victimized by false test results and financial promises involving the company's defective blood testing equipment and procedures.
On January 3, Holmes was convicted on four counts of investor fraud and conspiracy. During that trial, Holmes tearfully accused Balwani of sexually emotionally abusing her while they were lovers. An attorney for Balwani has vehemently denied those charges.
On July 7, a separate jury found Balwani guilty on all 12 felony counts of defrauding both Theranos investors and the patients who relied on wildly unreliable blood tests that could have jeopardized their health.
Both are currently free on bond pending sentencing, They will be facing prison terms of up to 20 years and large fines.
According to the indictment and evidence during their trials, Holmes and Balwani allegedly made numerous misrepresentations to potential investors about Theranos's financial condition and its future prospects.
For example, the defendants represented to investors that Theranos conducted its patients' tests using Theranos-manufactured analyzers; when, in truth, Holmes and Balwani knew that Theranos purchased and used for patient testing third party, commercially available analyzers.
Holmes and Balwani also represented to investors that Theranos would generate over $100 million in revenues and break even in 2014 and that Theranos expected to generate approximately $1 billion in revenues in 2015; when, in truth, the defendants knew Theranos would generate only negligible or modest revenues in 2014 and 2015.
Holmes was scheduled to be sentenced on October 17. Balwani sentencing was scheduled for November 15. The victims statement will be filed to the court to be considered to determining the severity of the sentences.
To access the questionnaires go to https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/us-v-elizabeth-holmes-et-al. It is requested that respondents submit their statements via email as indicated on those questionnaires. Based on the information submitted, respondents may be contacted by law enforcement agencies and asked to provide additional information.