Former TV anchor and Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson has been found guilty of fraud in a scheme to trick investors and lenders into giving him tens of millions of dollars to keep his startup media company afloat.
The conviction came after an eight-week trial in Brooklyn Federal Court where jurors heard about how he and company executives plotted to forge documents and faked financial records.
Co-founder Samir Rao, who became a government cooperator, described first-hand how he impersonated a YouTube executive during a business call with Goldman Sachs and fine-tuned the details of the ruse with Watson.
After Watson and Rao founded it in 2013, Ozy produced newsletters, TV shows, podcasts and a festival called Ozy Fest. The jury found Watson committed fraud to secure tens of millions of dollars in investments and loans as the company’s debts grew.
Watson was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, along with aggravated identity theft. In all, Watson could face up to 37 years in prison when he’s sentenced. Ozy itself, which was also convicted at trial, faces financial penalties.
“The jury found that Watson was a con man who lied to investors to get them to buy stock in Ozy Media and to shower him with money to grow the company,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said Tuesday.
The often contentious trial featured frequent flareups between Watson’s lawyers and Judge Eric Komitee, who on Tuesday ordered Watson held without bail until sentencing.
In their request Watson be held without bail, prosecutors blasted the wannabe media bigshot for sneaking phones into the courtroom, using protected discovery material as fodder for a lawsuit against BuzzFeed and violating a gag order through online comments and a website alleging he was targeted for prosecution because of his race.
In December, Ozy sued BuzzFeed, Semafor and its founder Ben Smith, accusing them of stealing trade secrets.
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