Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani’s request to have their fraud convictions overturned and sentences reduced was denied by the Northern District Court of California on Monday. The court also upheld their joint restitution order of $452 million.
Holmes, the founder of Theranos, and Balwani, its former COO, were convicted separately in 2022 for defrauding investors about the capabilities of Theranos’ blood-testing technology. Holmes received over 11 years in prison, while Balwani was sentenced to nearly 13 years. Both began serving their sentences in 2023.
In their appeal, Holmes and Balwani argued that the district court improperly allowed testimony from former Theranos employees who offered expert opinions without being formally recognized as experts. While the appellate panel acknowledged that some testimony ventured into expert territory, they ruled that these errors did not affect the trial’s outcome.
Holmes also disputed the inclusion of a government report that detailed failures in Theranos’ laboratory, claiming it unfairly influenced the jury. However, the court maintained that the report was essential to showing her knowledge and intent. Holmes further argued that her rights were violated when she was not allowed to cross-examine a former lab director about his post-Theranos employment. The panel disagreed, concluding that the trial court acted within its rights in limiting the scope of cross-examination.
Balwani, for his part, claimed that his charges were expanded improperly during the trial, but the appeals court dismissed this argument. He also contended that his right to a fair trial was compromised due to alleged false testimony from two investors. The court rejected this claim as well, stating that any errors would not have altered the trial’s outcome.
Balwani is serving his sentence at Terminal Island, a minimum-security federal prison near Los Angeles, while Holmes is at FPC Bryan, a similar facility located about 100 miles from Houston.
