- Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani has had around two years shaved off his federal prison sentence.
- The former Theranos executive reported to prison in April to serve a nearly 13-year sentence.
Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, Elizabeth Holmes' ex-boyfriend and the No. 2 in charge at the failed blood-testing startup Theranos, has had some time shaved off his nearly 13-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy, Insider has learned.
Balwani, Theranos' former president and chief operating officer, was convicted last year and sentenced to 12 years and 11 months in federal prison plus three years of probation, according to court documents.
But federal-prison officials have reduced Balwani's sentence. His new projected release date is April 11, 2034 — meaning he is set to serve about 11 of the almost 13 years that he was originally sentenced to. Last month, a judge ordered Balwani and Holmes to pay $452 million in restitution to defrauded investors, including $125 million to the media magnate Rupert Murdoch, Insider's Sarah Jackson previously reported.
Last year, following a monthslong trial, a jury found him guilty of 12 counts of conspiracy and fraud. Balwani is appealing his conviction. His lawyer, Stephen Cazares, declined to comment.
In April, Balwani reported to prison at FCI Terminal Island, a minimum-security federal facility just outside of Los Angeles.
A spokesperson for the US Bureau of Prisons confirmed Balwani's release date but declined to comment on the specifics of his case, citing privacy and security reasons. However, the spokesperson said that generally, every inmate could earn up to 54 days of "good conduct time" for every year served, which shortened their sentence. They also said inmates could earn credit for time served through participation in recidivism-reduction programs and residential drug treatment.