Ozy Media and the firm’s owner, Carlos Watson, were found guilty of fraud in a criminal case on Tuesday by a Brooklyn federal jury. The case centered on accusations that Watson and his previous company Provide’s securities fraudulently mispresented its potential and manipulated financial information and even fake relationships with Google and Oprah Winfrey.
Watson a Cable News Anchor turned investment banker and Ozy Media company was convicted of securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. It also caused a conviction for identity theft to Watson. Watson and Ozy both had entered not-guilty pleas.
Watson was accused of providing fraudulent information about Ozy’s financial situation and the number of users by federal prosecutors; the contracts were also forged during an attempt to attract investors and increase revenue expectations.
Ozy started in 2013 and shut down in 2021 after commentators cast doubt on its viewers’ numbers and a high-ranking executive misrepresented himself as a YouTube executive during a phone call with Goldman Sachs representatives, claiming that YouTube had agreed to buy exclusive rights to stream one of Ozy’s shows.
Watson’s prosecutors said that under federal sentencing norms, which could apply to Watson, added to possible incarcerations, about 24 to 29 years confinement and no more than two years mandatory sentence for identity theft. His sentencing is due on November 18.
“Ozy Media did not survive due to some of Watson’s shady scams and, today, the man himself was found guilty of his blatant offenses,’ said Brooklyn US attorney Breon Peace.
W&O lawyers did not respond to some requests for comments on this matter.
Thus, Watson´s lawyer claimed that deputies plotted against Watson and acted on their own while not informing Watson of their misconduct.
This came after a six-week trial that heard from two former deputies of Watson, who had earlier admitted to fraud charges. They also affirmed that they discussed with Watson how to cover up the fact that Ozy had a huge amount of debt, little cash, and was experiencing slow growth.