Carlos Watson, the founder and former CEO of Ozy Media, just isn’t going to jail in spite of everything.
Watson, who was sentenced to 116 months, or practically ten years, in jail for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identification theft has had his jail sentence commuted by President Trump. He additionally now not has to pay $96M in restitution and forfeiture because of the commutation.
Watson launched the digital way of life and information website in 2012. The sentence was made in December 2024 – earlier than Trump took workplace – by United States District Choose Eric R. Komitee in federal court docket in Brooklyn following Watson’s conviction in July after an eight-week trial. Watson pleaded not responsible.
The trial confirmed that between 2018 and 2021 Watson and Ozy Media co-conspirators orchestrated a scheme to defraud traders out of tens of tens of millions of {dollars} by means of fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions about Ozy’s monetary efficiency, together with income, money readily available and revenue, ongoing enterprise relationships with celebrities, acquisition prospects from high- profile know-how and media firms, contract negotiations and different company metrics.
Court docket submitting confirmed that Watson and his co-conspirators, who have been being tried individually, lied to potential traders about who else is likely to be investing in Ozy, the existence and measurement of acquisition gives acquired by Ozy, the existence and timing of financing rounds, and the existence and phrases of Ozy’s enterprise contracts, directing Ozy workers to create faux contracts with solid signatures to supply in due diligence.
One of many strangest claims was that on a number of events, when confronted with questions from lenders or potential traders, Watson and his co-conspirators assumed the identities of and impersonated precise media firm executives to cowl up their prior fraudulent misrepresentations. Specifically, Ozy co-founder and chief working officer Samir Rao had misrepresented himself on a name with Goldman Sachs by pretending to be a YouTube govt, Alex Piper. The concept was to place Ozy in a constructive gentle because it sought an funding from the financial institution.
“Carlos Watson orchestrated a years-long, audacious scheme to defraud traders and lenders to his firm, Ozy Media, out of tens of tens of millions of {dollars},” Breon Peace, United States Lawyer for the Jap District of New York mentioned in December. “His incessant and deliberate lies demonstrated not solely a brazen disregard for the rule of regulation, but in addition a contempt for the values of honesty and equity that ought to underlie American entrepreneurship. On far too many events, Watson selected deceit over candor, greedy for the phantasm of enterprise success and private acclaim at any price. Right this moment’s sentence ought to function a warning to those that would interact in fraud that justice will likely be swift and sure.”
