Carlos Watson, Ozy Media Founder, Sentenced to Nearly 10 Years in Prison for Fraud

Carlos Watson (C) co-founder of Ozy Media, arrives for his sentencing hearing at Brooklyn Federal Court in New York City on Dec. 16, 2024. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Carlos Watson, founder of the now-defunct digital media company Ozy Media, was sentenced on Monday to nearly 10 years in prison for attempting to defraud investors by lying about the startup’s finances.

U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee sentenced Watson to 116 months in prison at a hearing in Brooklyn federal court.

Watson’s sentence was handed down after he and Ozy Media were found guilty by a federal jury in July of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The eight-week trial found that Watson, along with co-conspirators Samir Rao and Suzee Han, had orchestrated a years-long scheme to “defraud investors out of tens of millions of dollars through fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions about Ozy’s financial performance,” according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Federal prosecutors said the former cable news host and his media company attempted to defraud investors by presenting false information about the company’s finances, fabricated contracts, relationships with celebrities, and acquisition prospects from high-profile technology and media corporations to attract investors.

Watson, 55, who faced a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison and a maximum of 37 years in prison after his conviction in July, remains free for now on a $3 million bond. He is to surrender to prison on March 28, 2025. Any additional penalties of forfeiture and restitution will be determined at a later date.

Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a press release that Watson’s “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 that should underlie American entrepreneurship.”

Throughout the lawsuit, Watson has denied the allegations. During the trial, Watson’s lawyer blamed any misrepresentations on others, including Rao and Han.

Rao, former chief operating officer at Ozy Media, and Han, former chief of staff, testified against Watson and pleaded guilty in 2023 to fraud charges and are awaiting sentencing.

Ozy Media, founded in 2012, suffered its downfall in 2021 after The New York Times revealed that one of Ozy’s top executives, who was later revealed to be Rao, had impersonated a YouTube executive during a call with Goldman Sachs bankers.

According to court filings, prosecutors alleged Watson falsely claimed that Rao had acted alone and had carried out the impersonation as a result of a mental breakdown. Prosecutors said Watson was in the room with Rao and texted him instructions on what to say.

Komitee said Monday that the “quantum of dishonesty in this case is exceptional.”

“Your internal apparatus for separating truth from fiction became badly miscalibrated,” he told Watson in sentencing him.

NTD has reached out to Watson’s attorney for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From NTD News