The spectacular collapse of Ozy Media continues to take casualties, with a New York jury on Tuesday finding CEO Carlos Watson guilty for his role in the company’s multi-million-dollar fraud scheme to fool investors.
He faces up to 37 years in jail after being convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges following the eight-week federal trial.
Ozy Media — which was funded in large part by left-wing billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs — shut its doors last year after the New York Times ran an explosive investigation uncovering a scheme involving Watson and Ozy COO Samir Rao to impersonate executives from YouTube and other firms in order to land investment dollars.
The brazen plot involved years of deception that also included the misrepresentation and falsification of Ozy’s financial results, debts, and audience size.
Ozy was launched in 2013 as an entertainment and news company with the intent to produce TV and online content, as well as podcasts, for various outlets.
Laurene Powell Jobs — the widow of Apple’s Steve Jobs — was one of the company’s main funders, securing a seat on Ozy’s board of directors. Other investors included Silicon Valley venture capitalist Ron Conway and the German media conglomerate Axel Springer.
As detailed in Breitbart News’ editor-in-chief Alex Marlow’s book Breaking the News, Laurene Powell Jobs’ vast wealth has enabled her to amass numerous news outlets under her entity called the Emerson Collective. One of those outlets is The Atlantic — the once-venerated magazine that has become a left-wing propaganda platform that has published such infamous claims as the Trump “suckers” and “losers” hoax.
Despite Powell Jobs’ wealth — which has been estimated at more than $13 billion — Ozy Media received millions in dollars in PPP loans during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Breaking the News.
Ozy COO Samir Rao and former chief of staff Suzee Han both entered plea deals with the government last year.
Among the revelations in the scandal was Rao’s decision to impersonate a YouTube executive on a call with Goldman Sachs in an effort to dupe the investment bank into backing Ozy.
Lawyers for Ozy CEO Carlos Watson said they intend to appeal Tuesday’s conviction.
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