AP – Former Theranos executive Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani will be heading to prison later this month after an appeals court rejected his bid to remain free while he contests his conviction for carrying out a blood-testing hoax with his former boss and lover, Elizabeth Holmes.
After the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision refusing Balwani’s request, United States (US) District Judge Edward Davila ordered him to start his nearly 13-year prison sentence on April 20 yesterday. One of Balwani’s lawyers had filed a motion late on Thursday seeking nearly two weeks to give Balwani time to make travel arrangements and make other preparations for a trip that will send him to a federal prison in Southern California.
The April 20 reporting date means Balwani will be heading to prison a week before Holmes, Theranos’ founder and Chief Executive Officer, is scheduled to begin a more than 11-year prison sentence after being convicted on four counts of fraud and conspiracy last year.
Holmes, 39, appeared before Davila last month along with her lawyers in an effort to persuade the judge to allow her to remain free while she pursues her own appeal. Davila hasn’t ruled on Holmes’ request yet.
Davila last month rejected Balwani’s request to remain free while he appeals his conviction on 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy and ordered him to report to prison on March 16. Balwani then avoided having to report on that date by appealing Davila’s ruling against him.
But three judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded Balwani hadn’t provided enough compelling evidence to convince them that his conviction is likely to be overturned.
Balwani will serve his sentence in a prison near a harbour in San Pedro, California, US located about 50 kilometres from downtown Los Angeles.
