The founding father of Ozy Media, Carlos Watson, has been sentenced to almost a decade in jail for mendacity about his once-trendy start-up with a view to appeal to traders.
Prosecutors mentioned the ex-Goldman Sachs banker and former MSNBC host had orchestrated a years-long scheme that resulted in “tens of millions of dollars” of losses for traders.
The court docket was informed Watson and others at Ozy Media falsified details about the agency’s funds, relationships with celebrities and acquisition prospects to lure traders.
Watson continues to disclaim the allegations and says he plans to attraction the decision.
United States District Judge Eric R Komitee sentenced Watson to 116 months in jail for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated id theft.
“Carlos Watson orchestrated a years-long, audacious scheme to defraud investors and lenders to his company”, mentioned Breon Peace, US 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 contempt for the values of honesty and fairness”.
Watson will stay free for now on a $3m (£2.3m) bond.
He had pleaded not responsible however was convicted in July following an eight-week trial.
In court docket, Watson mentioned he was a businessman who believed in what his firm was doing and had put each effort into attempting to make it a hit.
His lawyer had argued that he was betrayed by his deputies who had acted on their very own volition and hid their wrongdoing from him.
Ozy Media’s downfall started in 2021 when a New York Times investigation discovered that one among its executives impersonated a YouTube consultant throughout a name with funding banking big Goldman Sachs.
Watson blamed the deception on what he described as his deputy’s psychological well being points. He added that no hurt was precipitated as a result of Goldman Sachs didn’t in the end resolve to speculate.
In court docket filings, prosecutors alleged Watson was current through the name and gave his deputy instructions on what to say, regardless of beforehand denying to the media that he was there.
Ozy Media aimed to emulate the early success of digital information media pioneers like Vice Media and Buzzfeed.
It produced left-leaning podcasts, tv sequence and occasions, and profiles of rising stars and rising tendencies.
In 2020, it was valued at $159m (£132m).
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8nzm63pzdo