- President Donald Trump commuted the criminal fraud sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson, just as he was due to begin serving a 116-month prison term in California.
- Trump also commuted the sentence of probation imposed on Ozy Media for its related conviction in the case.
- Ozy abruptly shut down in October 2021, after The New York Times reported that the company's chief operating office impersonated a YouTube executive on a conference call with Goldman Sachs.
- Trump also this week pardoned Trevor Milton, the founder and former CEO of electric truck maker Nikola, who was free on appeal after being sentenced to four years in prison.
President Donald Trump commuted the criminal fraud sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson on Friday, just as Watson was due to begin serving a 116-month prison term in California for his multi-million-dollar scheme that included falsely claiming the start-up had deals with Google and Oprah Winfrey, a senior White House official said.
Trump also commuted the sentence of probation imposed on Ozy Media for the defunct news and entertainment company's conviction in the same case, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Watson was convicted at trial in Brooklyn federal court last July of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
The 55-year-old was sentenced in December.
In February, a federal judge ordered Watson and Ozy to pay almost $60 million in forfeiture and more than $36 million in restitution.
Watson's defense attorney, Arthur Aidala, declined to comment Friday when contacted by CNBC.
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