Due to his suspected involvement in a scam involving the defunct content company, the former head of Ozy Media was given a 10-year prison sentence.
Following his conviction in July on securities and wire fraud charges, Carlos Watson faced a potential sentence of 37 years in prison. The prosecution had demanded a forfeiture to the government of millions of dollars and a 17-year sentence.
According to The Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee stated in imposing the sentence that the level of dishonesty in this instance is extraordinary. Later on, he said to Watson: Your internal system for discerning fact from fiction became seriously misaligned.
Watson entered a not guilty plea and has maintained his innocence ever since.
Ozy’s ascent and decline closely mirrored the 2010s digital media bubble. The organization aimed to capitalize on the surge of investment brought about by platforms such as BuzzFeed and Vice, which were drawing billions of dollars in venture money.
Both of those companies have had to deal with financial issues: Vice filed for bankruptcy protection, and BuzzFeed barely avoided being taken off the stock exchange’s list.
A former lieutenant described the challenges Ozy had to stay afloat and the limits it violated in order to do so during the Watson trial.
Former Chief Operating Officer Samir Rao told jurors that survival within the parameters of decency, fairness, and truth had evolved into survival at any costs and by any means necessary, claiming Watson had approved of all his lies. Rao entered a guilty plea.
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