NEW YORK: Ozy Media billed itself as “the New and the Next” as its charismatic cofounder, former MSNBC and CNN host Carlos Watson, attracted millions of dollars from investors on a promise to attract young, sophisticated audiences.
But on Wednesday, the once-buzzy company didn’t even have representation in court as it was arraigned on securities fraud and wire fraud charges.
There was confusion when representatives for the company were a no-show at its arraignment at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn. A judge had to enter a plea of “not guilty” on its behalf.
Outside the courtroom, a public defender who had been hurriedly assigned to represent the company at the hearing quickly tried to make sense of the case. She asked a journalist what Ozy did and what the case was about.
Later, she was excused from what is expected to be a complex and sprawling case involving hundreds of thousands of documents and allegations that the company’s executives misrepresented its financial standing and the size of its audience.
Founded in California’s Silicon Valley in 2013, Ozy marketed itself as a progressive digital platform, providing a place for fresh perspectives on news, culture entertainment, business and technology.
It published stories on a website, produced podcasts and TV shows and held an annual festival in New York’s Central Park that was a mix of big-name music performances and talks by public figures.
But prosecutors said that while the company initially successfully raised tens of millions of dollars to fund its growth, it got desperate as it began hemorrhaging money.
Between 2018 and 2021, prosecutors said, Ozy and its founders lied to investors about the company’s debts and other pertinent financial information. The SEC contends that Watson and his company defrauded investors of about $50 million.
The company shut down in 2021, a week after a report by the New York Times detailed an episode in which the company’s chief operating officer impersonated a YouTube executive during a pitch to Goldman Sachs, which had been considering infusing money into the media enterprise.
Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges in late February accusing Watson and the company of bilking investors. Watson was also charged with identity theft over the alleged impersonation of several media executives. He has pleaded not guilty.
The company’s former chief operations officer, Samir Rao, pleaded guilty last month, as did Ozy’s former chief of staff, Suzee Han. Both were released on bail to await sentencing.
It was unclear why the company has been unable to retain a lawyer. Watson’s attorney could not be reached for comment. The company ceased business operations last week.
Assistant US Attorney Jonathan Siegel told the judge that prosecutors wanted to proceed with the case and asked the judge to appoint a lawyer for the company until it can find an attorney of its own.
Embattled Ozy Media a no show in fraud case
https://arab.news/c9zcq
Embattled Ozy Media a no show in fraud case
- The once-buzzy company that attracted millions of dollars from investors didn’t even have representation in court as it was arraigned on securities fraud and wire fraud charges
Pioneering Asharq Al-Awsat journalist Mohammed al-Shafei dies at 74
- Egyptian was known for his fearless coverage of terrorist, extremist groups
- One of handful of reporters to interview Taliban leader Mullah Omar in 1970s
LONDON: Mohammed al-Shafei, one of Asharq Al-Awsat’s most prominent journalists, has died at the age of 74 after a 40-year career tackling some of the region’s thorniest issues.
Born in Egypt in 1951, al-Shafei earned a bachelor’s degree from Cairo University in 1974 before moving to the UK, where he studied journalism and translation at the University of Westminster and the School of Oriental and African Studies.
He began his journalism career at London-based Arabic papers Al-Muslimoon and Al-Arab — both of which are published by Saudi Research & Publishing Co. which also owns Arab News — before joining Al-Zahira after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Al-Shafei joined Asharq Al-Awsat in 1991 and spent 15 years on the sports desk before shifting to reporting on terrorism. He went on to pioneer Arab press coverage in the field, writing about all aspects of it, including its ideologies and ties to states like Iran.
His colleagues knew him for his calm demeanor, humility and meticulous approach, marked by precise documentation, deep analysis and avoidance of sensationalism.
Al-Shafei ventured fearlessly into terrorist strongholds, meeting senior terrorist leaders and commanders. In the 1970s he was one of only a handful of journalists to interview Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, and conducted exclusive interviews with senior figures within Al-Qaeda.
He also tracked post-Al-Qaeda groups like Daesh, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Boko Haram, offering pioneering analysis of Sunni-Shiite extremism and how cultural contexts shaped movements across Asia and Africa.
During the war on Al-Qaeda, he visited US bases in Afghanistan, embedded with international forces, and filed investigative reports from active battlefields — rare feats in Arab journalism at the time.
He interviewed Osama bin Laden’s son, highlighting a humanitarian angle while maintaining objectivity, and was among the few Arab journalists to report from Guantanamo, where his interviews with Al-Qaeda detainees shed light on the group’s operations.
Al-Shafei married a Turkish woman in London in the late 1970s, with whom he had a son and daughter. He was still working just hours before he died in London on Dec. 31.
