President Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson just hours before he was due to serve a 116-month term for a scheme that involved falsely claiming deals with Google and Oprah Winfrey. Trump also commuted Ozy Media’s sentence in the same case. Watson and Ozy were ordered to pay almost $60 million in forfeiture and $36 million in restitution. Trump’s actions removed the criminal penalties imposed on Watson and Ozy. Watson was convicted of securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft in 2021 and sentenced in December. Criminal justice reform advocate Glenn Martin tweeted about Trump’s decision to commute Watson’s sentence and expressed gratitude to advocate Alice Marie Johnson. Watson’s scheme involved defrauding investors by misrepresenting Ozy’s financial performance, business relationships, and contract negotiations. Ozy shut down in October 2021 after it was revealed that its chief operating officer had impersonated a YouTube executive. Prosecutors said Watson orchestrated a scheme to defraud investors and lenders to Ozy Media out of tens of millions of dollars. Watson was set to surrender to a prison in California before learning of the commutation of his sentence by Trump.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image associated with the presented article. Due to copyright reasons, we are unable to use the original images. However, you can still enjoy the accurate and up-to-date content and information provided.
