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Carlos Watson, co-founder of Ozy Media, speaks with press after his sentencing hearing at Brooklyn Federal Court on December 16, 2024 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
President Donald Trump commuted the criminal fraud sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson on Friday, just as Watson was due to begin serving a 116-month prison term in California for his multi-million-dollar scheme.
Trump also commuted the sentence of probation imposed on Ozy Media for its related conviction in the case, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Watson was convicted at trial in Brooklyn federal court in last July of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The 55-year-old was sentenced in December.
In February, a federal judge ordered Watson and Ozy to pay almost $60 million in forfeiture and more than $36 million in restitution.
When Watson was sentenced, then-Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said, "Carlos Watson orchestrated a years-long, audacious scheme to defraud investors and lenders to his company, Ozy Media, out of tens of millions of dollars."
Prosecutors said that Watson and his co-conspirators between 2018 and 2021 defrauded investors by misrepresenting Ozy's financial performance, its ongoing business relationships and its acquisition prospects, as well as its contract negotiations.
FILE PHOTO: OZY FEST 2018 at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park on July 21, 2018 in New York City.
Matthew Eisman | Getty Images
Ozy abruptly shut down in October 2021, after The New York Times reported that the company's chief operating officer, Samir Rao, had impersonated a YouTube executive on a conference call with Goldman Sachs.
The investment bank was considering a $40 million investment in Ozy at the time.
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