Former TV presenter sentenced to almost ten years in prison for fraud

The founder of failed media and entertainment company Ozy Media, Carlos Watson, has been sentenced to nearly a decade in prison for lying about the company to lure investors.

Prosecutors said the former MSNBC host and ex-Goldman Sachs banker orchestrated a years-long scheme that left investors with “tens of millions of dollars” in losses.

The court was told Watson and others at Ozy Media falsified information about the company’s finances, celebrity relationships and takeover prospects to lure investors.

Watson continues to deny the allegations and says he plans to appeal the verdict.

U.S. District Judge Eric R. Committee sentenced Watson to 116 months in prison for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

“For years, Carlos Watson orchestrated an audacious scheme to defraud his company’s investors and lenders,” said Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

“His incessant and deliberate lies demonstrated not only a brazen disregard for the rule of law, but also a disregard for the values ​​of honesty and fairness.”

Watson remains free on a $3 million (£2.3 million) bond for now.

He had pleaded not guilty but was convicted in July after an eight-week trial.

In court, Watson said he was a businessman who believed in the performance of his company and made every effort to make it a success.

His lawyer had argued that he had been betrayed by his deputies, who had acted on their own initiative and concealed their wrongdoing from him.

The demise of Ozy Media began in 2021 when a New York Times investigation revealed that one of its executives impersonated a YouTube representative during a call with investment banking giant Goldman Sachs.

Watson blamed the deception on his deputy’s mental health problems. He added that no damage was caused because Goldman Sachs ultimately did not decide to invest.

In court filings, prosecutors alleged that Watson was present on the call and gave his deputy instructions on what to say, although he had previously denied to the media that he was present.

Ozy Media wanted to emulate the early success of digital news media pioneers such as Vice Media and Buzzfeed.

It produced left-leaning podcasts, television series and events, as well as profiles of rising stars and emerging trends. In 2020, it was valued at $159 million.

The company affected by the scandal announced its closure in October 2021.