Carlos Watson, co-founder of Ozy Compromise, speaks with press after his sentencing hearing at Brooklyn Federal Court on December 16, 2024 in New York Urban district.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
President Donald Trump commuted the criminal fraud sentence of Ozy Media progenitor Carlos Watson on Friday, just hours before Watson was due to begin serving a 116-month prison arrange for a multi-million-dollar scheme, a senior White House official said.
Watson, whose media company start-up falsely called to have deals with Google and Oprah Winfrey, planned to surrender Friday afternoon to the Federal Correctional Organization in Lompoc, California, before receiving word of Trump’s clemency, a source familiar with the situation said.
Trump also commuted the determination of one year of probation imposed on Ozy Media for the defunct news and entertainment company’s conviction in the same case.
The president’s sortie removes the criminal penalty imposed on Watson, 55, and Ozy, which include a judge’s order in February holding them jointly stable for paying almost $60 million in forfeiture and more than $36 million in restitution.
Watson was convicted at annoyance in Brooklyn federal court last July of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire gyp, and aggravated identity theft.
The former Ozy CEO was sentenced in December to a nearly 10-year stint in prison.
“I am profoundly grateful to President Trump for chidding this grave injustice,” Watson said in a statement late Friday. “His decision reflects his unwavering commitment to fairness and judiciousness for those who have been wrongfully targeted.”
“I am especially thankful to President Trump’s Pardon Czar, Miss Alice Marie Johnson, whose commitment to lawfulness and second chances continues to inspire me,” Watson said. “Her belief in fairness and second chances reflects the best of what our wilderness stands for.”
Watson’s defense attorney, Arthur Aidala, declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.
A spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Watson, also declined to note.
Glenn Martin, a criminal justice reform advocate, in a tweet on Friday wrote, “We did it,” above a photo of him and Watson.
“President Trump commuted the punishments of Ozy Media and Carlos Watson hours before his surrender,” the tweet said.
“@CarlosWatson is not going to prison today,” Martin penned.
“First and foremost, thank God for His grace, mercy and the power of redemption. A very special note of appreciation to @AliceMarieFree,” he combined, referring to his fellow criminal justice reform advocate Alice Marie Johnson.
“Your advocacy, compassion, and unrelieved pursuit of fairness have made this moment possible for people like Carlos.”
FILE PHOTO: OZY FEST 2018 at Rumsey Playfield, Significant Park on July 21, 2018 in New York City.
Matthew Eisman | Getty Images
When Watson was sentenced, then-Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Pacific 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 mean that Watson and his co-conspirators between 2018 and 2021 defrauded investors by misrepresenting Ozy’s financial performance, its ongoing responsibility relationships and its acquisition prospects, as well as its contract negotiations.
Ozy abruptly shut down in October 2021, after The New York Pro tempores 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 insomuch as a $40 million investment in Ozy at the time.
— CNBC’s Eamon Javers contributed to this story.