Opening arguments in the trial of former Theranos CEO Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani were postponed on Wednesday when a COVID-19 patient was exposed to someone in the courtroom.
Balwani, Elizabeth Holmes' ex-boyfriend and the former chief operating officer of the now-defunct technology business, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges, according to The New York Post.
As a precaution, the federal judge presiding over the case in San Jose sent everyone home on Wednesday. According to US District Court Judge Edward Davila, someone who attended jury selection on Tuesday was exposed to the virus but tested negative. The court gave those in attendance testing kits.
The trial is set to start on Friday, but it could be postponed until the following week. Balwani's trial was supposed to begin on February 15, but it was delayed due to the outbreak of the Omicron variant.
Balwani's trial comes only weeks after Holmes was found guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud on several counts. She might be sentenced to up to 80 years in jail. The date of her sentence has been set for September.
Who is Ramesh Balwani?
Ramesh Balwani was born in 1965 in Pakistan. His Sindhi Hindu family later migrated to the United States. According to court records, Balwani was married to a Japanese artist Keiko Fujimoto. They lived together in San Francisco. In 2002, their marriage ended in divorce.
A report from The New York Times indicated that Balwani started his career in Microsoft. Later on, he joined CommerceBid.com as president of the start-up in 1999. The company made platforms that aimed to reduce costs by allowing companies to make suppliers compete with others. Within one year, the company was bought for $225 million as per Business Insider. Balwani reportedly left with $40 million, despite the company's collapse later.
Read Also: Elizabeth Holmes: 5 Things to Know About Theranos Founder Before Release of 'The Dropout' TV Series
Balwani-Holmes Romance
During the beginnings of Theranos, Balwani and Holmes became friends. They met on a trip to Beijing, which was under the Mandarin immersion program of Stanford University. Eventually, their relationship turned into romance, and they decided to live together in a condo in Palo Alto in 2005. Holmes was 18 years old at the time, and Balwani was 37.
Theranos' board of directors planned to replace Holmes as CEO with someone with more expertise in 2008. She eventually persuaded the board to let her remain, in part by promising to hire Balwani, who she claimed would make the company get back on track. However, Holmes did not disclose their actual relationship.
Balwani became Holmes' right-hand man in 2009 after giving Theranos a personal loan somewhere between $12 and $14 million after the company's tank ran empty.
Employees at Theranos referred to Balwani, who was president and COO at the time, as "the enforcer." He was in charge of the company's day-to-day operations. But scientists at the company expressed their disbelief that Balwani was making strategic judgments despite his lack of medical experience.
Men's Health reported that Holmes said Balwani had verbally and sexually harassed her during her trial in 2021. She claimed he did not have power over her or force her to lie to investors, but he had an impact on everything she did. She brought aloud texts he sent to her during her trial, supposedly to prove how he controlled her by directing her how to dress and what to drink and eat. Balwani denied her accusations as per SCMP.
