Carlos Watson was once viewed as a beacon of success and hard work, but now his entire empire is crumbling down as he was just convicted of committing fraud for the past decade. His business and reputation completely fell apart after his business’s co-founder was caught impersonating a YouTube executive in order to falsely inflate their company’s success.

Court records show that Watson helped found Ozy Media with Samir Rao back in 2012. The idea of the media group was to provide fresh, sophisticated, and trendy content that showcased minorities and marginalized voices.

Initially, the media group appeared to be a massive success. After all, the very first person the show interviewed was former President Bill Clinton! From there, the company went on to produce podcasts and host events.

In 2020, the group won an Emmy for “Black Women OWN the Conversation,” a piece they produced for the Oprah Winfrey Network. That same year, the company boasted incredible $53 million profit margins. Shortly after that massive success, the media group helped Ozy Fest in New York Central Park, which boasted major attendees like soon-to-be President Joe Biden and John Legend.

While all of these massive events were going on, Ozy was in dire straits in the background. Reports show the media group was delaying paying vendors on time and getting behind on rent. They were also borrowing against future payouts, obtaining massive cash advances to even cover payroll. Despite reporting revenue of over $53 million in 2020, reports later showed the group really only made $11 million that year.

That’s not the extent of the group’s fraudulent actions, though. Around 2020, the group became increasingly desperate for more contracts and began blatantly lying to investors and lenders. In one case, when Ozy attempted to get a bank loan in 2020, they lied about having the “Black Women OWN The Conversation” renewed for a second season. The group went so far as to set up a fake email account for an OWN executive to “prove” the network’s commitment to a second season. In the next year, Ozy representatives used a voice-modifying app to pretend to be a YouTube executive on a call with Goldman bankers. They lied about funding a talk show in order to secure more funding.

On Tuesday, Watson was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he could face decades in prison.

Fraud in Brooklyn

In Brooklyn, getting convicted of conspiring to commit securities fraud is likely to result in a prison sentence of anywhere from 10 to 20 years. On top of the criminal consequences you could face, your business is unlikely to survive these types of allegations.

If you get accused of committing fraud, the best way to handle the situation is to hire a competent criminal defense attorney as soon as possible after your arrest. The right attorney will get straight to work in defending you and advising you on how to navigate the situation.

Schedule a free consultation with our team of lawyers now if you’ve found yourself in legal trouble.