Ex-TV host Carlos Watson convicted in trial over collapse of startup Ozy Media

NEW YORK (AP) — Former TV personality Carlos Watson was convicted Tuesday in a federal financial conspiracy case about Ozy Media, an ambitious startup that collapsed after another executive impersonated a YouTube executive to hype the company’s success.

Watson, 53, had been free on bail but was taken into custody to await sentencing, set for Nov. 18.

Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said the verdict held Watson accountable for “brazen crimes” that were meant to keep cash-strapped Ozy afloat but ultimately sank it.

“The jury found that Watson was a con man who told lie upon lie upon lie to deceive investors into buying stock in his company," Peace said in a statement, adding that the company “collapsed under the weight of Watson’s dishonest schemes.”