Carlos Watson, the CEO of Ozy Media, was arrested and indicted on Thursday morning for securities fraud by federal authorities. The move came after Watson’s former partner in the company, Samir Rao, pleaded guilty to fraud charges, the U.S. Attorney’s office said on Thursday.
Watson was taken into custody and was set to be arraigned Thursday on charges of conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud. Watson also faces charges of aggravated identity theft for his role
in the impersonation of multiple media company executives in emails with Ozy’s lenders and prospective investors in furtherance of the fraud schemes.
If convicted, Watson will face a minimum sentence of two years in prison and a maximum sentence of 37 years.