Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson has been arrested by federal investigators and charged with fraud, according to multiple news reports.
Prosecutors said in a court document that Watson “engaged in a scheme to defraud Ozy’s potential investors, potential buyers, borrowers and potential lenders” by inflating the site’s viewership and finances in a scandal that escalated last fall , began to .unfold. Ozy resigned in October 2021 after the New York Times reported that someone at the company appeared to have posed as a YouTube executive during a conference call with Goldman Sachs, which was considering an investment. The person – later Samir Rao, Ozy’s COO – praised the performance of Ozy’s videos on the massive platform and the good working relationship between the two companies.
Watson’s arrest reportedly followed Rao’s plea in federal court in Brooklyn earlier this week to charges of fraud and identity theft.
Last fall, the SEC and DOJ reportedly launched investigations. Ozy Media’s star journalist, former BBC presenter Katty Kay, resigned, calling the allegations “serious and deeply disturbing”. At the time, Watson called the Rao episode a “mental health crisis” on the COO’s part, but at the time denied any cheating scheme. The website, which focuses on youth news about culture and politics with events including a Signature Festival, has since reopened.
Source: Deadline
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