Crime
Ozy The media went from screaming to outrage. Its founder, Carlos Watson, appeared in court
NEW YORK (AP) – For nearly a decade, Ozy Media has projected a picture of recent media success.
The company boasted big-name interviews, an Emmy-winning television show, a vibrant festival of music and concepts, and impressive numbers to exhibit to potential investors – until it collapsed in 2021 amid doubts about its audience size, profitability and fundamental integrity .
These doubts at the moment are at the middle of the federal criminal trial. Founder Carlos Watson and Ozy are fighting charges of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Even after many other public and court hearings for Silicon Valley corporations that went from screaming to damage, it’s hard to forget the moment of Ozy’s downfall, when co-founder Samir Rao impersonated a YouTube executive to talk concerning the company to potential investors.
Lawyers for Watson and Ozy blame any false statements solely on Rao, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and identity theft. The defense also argued that prosecutors would criminalize common entrepreneurial bloat and single out Watson, a black founder in a tech world where there are disproportionately few African-American executives.
“I am not now and never have been a ‘fraudster,'” he said last 12 months when the costs were brought against him.
Prosecutors and Rao, their star witness, say Ozy straddled the road between hopeful hype and brazen fraud.
“We told so many lies to so many different people,” Rao testified after the struggling company produced rosy financial results in a desperate attempt to lure investors and stay afloat.
The hope was to enable “a diverse audience to consume hopefully a different, more meaningful type of content,” he said. But “survival within the bounds of decency, honesty and truth has evolved into survival at all costs and by any means necessary.”
“New and Next”
Ozy was founded in 2012 on the Millennial-friendly premise of providing a fresh, sophisticated but not cookie-cutter approach to politics, culture and more – what it calls “new and next” – while amplifying minority and marginalized voices.
The son of two South Florida teachers, Watson graduated from Harvard and Stanford, worked on Wall Street, founded and sold a test preparation company and anchored MSNBC. According to Rao, he fathered Ozy after which recruited Rao, a former colleague from the world of finance, after a probability meeting at a Chipotle restaurant in Silicon Valley.
Ozy debuted a web site, newsletters, and with a bang: former President Bill Clinton was one in all the primary interviewees. The company has expanded into podcasts, events and tv programming, winning a 2020 Emmy for Watson’s “Black Women OWN the Conversation” on the Oprah Winfrey Network. The annual Ozy Fest in New York’s Central Park has attracted big names, from John Legend to pre-presidential Joe Biden.
Testimony shows that the corporate acquired many major advertisers, clients and grants. But behind the scenes, prosecutors say, Ozy began to bleed in 2018 and resorted to lies.
“I don’t know where his numbers came from.”
The company told a possible investor that it “ended 2017 with approximately $12 million in revenue,” but gave its accountants a figure of lower than $7 million. The disparities widened through the years, reaching as much as $53 million compared to $11 million in 2020, according to testimony and documents presented throughout the trial.
Meanwhile, Ozy steadily delayed paying suppliers and rent, borrowed against future receipts to obtain expensive advances, and had difficulty paying salaries, former vp of finance Janeen Poutre testified.
The defense portrayed the scramble for money as a growing problem for a successful startup.
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“Ozy Media did not defraud its investors or anyone else,” said company attorney Shannon Frison.
Watson lawyer and Harvard Law School professor Ronald Sullivan Jr. he said his client “believed every number he gave to every investor.” Sullivan suggested that revenue figures may vary depending on whether or not they represent “in-kind” income, equivalent to promoting trading at one other outlet.
Poutre testified that auditors rarely agree to count such revenues and she or he didn’t think Watson was all the time honest.
“I don’t know where his numbers came from. I know where my numbers came from,” she said.
Fake emails and voice masking
The alleged programs went beyond questionable numbers.
In an attempt to get Ozy a bank loan in 2020, Rao falsified the deal by saying that Winfrey’s OWN network had renewed “Black Women OWN The Conversation” for a second season. When the bank needed information directly from the net, Rao arrange a fake email account for the actual OWN executive and used it to provide the bank with “transaction background.”
Rao told jurors that Watson verbally approved the charade. Jurors saw a text message from Watson urging Rao to “be brave and do this,” but “that” was not specified. Ultimately, witnesses said, there was no loan or extension of this system.
Rao’s infamous phone rang the next 12 months when Ozy was searching for an investment from Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs. He falsely claimed that YouTube was paying for Watson’s eponymous talk show. When Goldman’s bankers wanted confirmation, he downloaded a voice-modifying app and talked to them while posing as a YouTube executive.
But the bankers were wary, as the actual YouTube executive soon discovered, and Watson told the board of Goldman Sachs and Ozy that his co-founder had suffered a mental breakdown.
The investment fell through, but Goldman Sachs continued to advertise with Ozy after the episode, Rao said.
Rao told jurors he was taking antidepressants but was not having a mental health crisis when he called. Rao said Watson was present and gave him instructions via text messages.
“I’m a huge fan of Carlos, Samir and the show,” reads one in all the texts, which Rao explained when Watson prompted him with a line for his fake persona to say. Watson then urged, “use the right pronouns. You are NOT OZY” – amongst other messages.
– You’re a liar, aren’t you?
Watson’s lawyer said the Ozy founder stumbled upon Rao’s scam, was outraged and signaled him to hang up.
The defense emphasized that Rao drafted a 2021 letter – ultimately unsent – in which he stated that the phone ruse was entirely his doing. Rao told jurors he wrote it to protect the corporate.
Defense attorneys labeled him an incompetent executive, a confessed fabricator and a confessed criminal who falsely implicated Watson in hopes of avoiding prison for his own crimes.
“So, Mr. Rao, you are a liar, aren’t you?” Sullivan asked during last Friday’s hearing.
“Unfortunately,” Rao replied, “I told many lies during my time at Ozy.”
Crime
Prosecutors say Sean “Diddy” Combs is trying to obstruct justice by heading to prison
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was trying to reach potential witnesses and influence public opinion while in prison in a bid to influence potential jurors in an upcoming sex trafficking trial, prosecutors said in a court filing during which they urged a judge to deny his latest bail request.
The government charges were filed Friday evening in federal court in Manhattan, which opposed the music mogul’s latest offer of $50 million bail. A bail hearing is scheduled for next week.
Prosecutors wrote that a review of recorded phone calls Combs made while in prison shows that he asked relations to contact potential victims and witnesses and urged them to create a “narrative” to influence the jury pool. They say he also encouraged the use of promoting strategies to influence public opinion.
“The defendant has demonstrated time and time again – even while in custody – that he’ll flagrantly and repeatedly disregard the foundations so as to improperly influence the consequence of his case. In other words, the defendant has demonstrated that he can’t be trusted to abide by the terms and conditions,” prosecutors wrote in a press release containing redactions.
Prosecutors wrote that from his behavior it might be inferred that Combs wanted to blackmail victims and witnesses into remaining silent or providing testimony helpful to his defense.
Combs’ lawyers didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors said Combs, 55, began breaking the foundations almost immediately after being taken into custody Metropolitan Prison Center in Brooklyn after his September arrest.
He pleaded not guilty to the costs brought against him he abused and molested women for years with the assistance of a network of collaborators and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
Two judges found he was a danger to the community and a flight risk.
His lawyers recently filed a 3rd bail application after rejecting two previous attempts, including a $50 million bail offer.
In their motion, they cited modified circumstances, including latest evidence, that they believed justified Combs’ release so he could higher prepare for his May 5 trial.
However, prosecutors said defense lawyers created the most recent bail proposal based on evidence provided to them by prosecutors, and the brand new material was already known to defense lawyers after they submitted previous bail applications.
In their presentation to the judge, prosecutors said Combs’ behavior in prison shows he must remain locked up.
For example, they said, Combs asked relations to plan and execute a social media campaign around his birthday “with the intent of influencing a potential jury in this criminal proceeding.”
He encouraged his children to post a video on their social media accounts of them gathering to have a good time his birthday, he added.
He then monitored statistics on the jail, including audience engagement, and “explicitly discussed with the family how to ensure the film would have the desired impact on potential jury members in this case,” they said.
The government also alleged that Combs made clear in other conversations that he intended to anonymously publish information that he believed would help him defend against the costs.
“Defendant’s efforts to impede the fairness of these proceedings also include his persistent efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of violence, who could provide strong testimony against him,” prosecutors wrote.
Crime
Celebrity chef and former NFL player Tobias Dorzon is recovering from a shooting attack
Celebrity chef and former NFL player Tobias Dorzon is recovering after being shot during an alleged robbery.
The shooting occurred on the evening of Tuesday, November 5 in Hyattsville, Maryland, when multiple suspects attempted to rob a man and woman who had just returned from dinner, based on statement from the Hyattsville Police Department.
Police said the victims were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Although authorities didn’t initially discover the victims, local council member Wanika Fisher revealed that Dorzon was amongst those attacked.
“I am disheartened and saddened by the news that Prince George’s County restaurant owner Tobias Dorzon was one of two people shot during an attempted robbery Tuesday evening in my neighborhood,” Fisher began in a news release.
She added that Dorzon, a Riverdale native, owns two “amazing” restaurants in Hyattsville and is considered a “dear” friend of hers.
“Such a terrible act could not have happened to a better person,” Fisher continued within the statement. “I offer my sincere condolences to him and the other victim, as well as their families and friends, and wish them both a speedy recovery. This type of senseless violence has no place in our county and county.”
According to Fisher, Dorzon is an “extremely talented” chef who has represented Prince George’s County on the national stage and appeared on several Food Network shows. Most recently, the 39-year-old chef participated within the Food Network’s “Last Bite Hotel,” where he made it to the ultimate 4. He also hosts “Time Out with Tobias” on ESPN.
Off-screen, Dorzon currently owns and manages a company Huncho’s house and exclusive 1123 By Chef Tobias. This spring, he was named Maryland Chef of the Year, the primary honor for somebody from Prince George’s County. In 2021 helped James Harden open his restaurant Thirteen in Houston.
Before becoming a master chef, the Maryland native played within the NFL for each the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans. He also had a stint playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
Every week after the shooting, Dorzon updated followers Instagram on his progress.
“I’m still here, thank you all for your prayers. See you soon…. Huncho,” he wrote within the caption of a post that included a screenshot of a tweet during which he admitted that, all things considered, he should be “God’s favorite.”
Crime
US bans airlines from flying to Haiti and UN suspends flights after gangs shot up planes
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – The Federal Aviation Administration has banned U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days after gangs shot three planes and the United Nations also temporarily suspended flights to Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, limiting humanitarian aid flowing into the country.
On Monday, bullets hit a Spirit Airlines plane that was about to land within the capital, injuring a flight attendant and forcing the airport to close. Photos and videos obtained by The Associated Press show bullet holes scattered throughout the plane’s interior.
On Tuesday, JetBlue and American Airlines announced that post-flight inspections showed their planes were also shot down on Monday while departing Port-au-Prince. The American suspended flights to the capital until February 12.
The shootings were a part of a wave of violence that erupted because the country tormented by gang violence swore in a brand new prime minister after a politically turbulent process.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the agency documented 20 armed clashes and more roadblocks affecting humanitarian operations during Monday’s violence. Port-au-Prince airport will remain closed until November 18, and Dujarric said the United Nations will redirect flights to the country’s second airport, within the northern, quieter city of Cap Haïtien.
Difficult access to the epicenter of violence, Port-au-Prince, is probably going to be devastating as gangs choke life within the capital pushed Haiti to the brink of famine. Dujarric warned that cutting off flights would mean “reducing the flow of humanitarian aid and humanitarian personnel into the country.”
A convoy of 20 trucks full of food and medical supplies has already been rescheduled south, and an operation to provide money assistance to 1,000 people within the Carrefour area, where violence broke out, had to be called off.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure business continuity in this difficult environment,” he said. “We call for an end to the escalation of violence to allow safe, sustainable and unimpeded humanitarian access.”
Life in much of Haiti’s capital got here to a standstill on Tuesday after a wave of violence. Heavily armed police in armored cars checked passing public transport trucks outside the airport.
Schools were closed, as were banks and government offices. The streets, where just the day before there had been a fierce shootout with gangs and police, were eerily empty, with few people passing by apart from motorcycles with a shot man hanging on behind.
In the afternoon, the sounds of heavy gunfire continued to echo through the streets – a reminder that despite political maneuvering by Haiti’s elites and a robust push from the international community to restore peace, the country’s toxic gang group retained a robust grip on many of the Caribbean nation.
The United Nations estimates that gangs control 85% of the capital Port-au-Prince. UN supported mission run by Kenyan police to quell gang violence, scuffling with an absence of funding and staff that prompted the calls for the UN peacekeeping mission.
President Luis Abinader within the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti, was the primary leader on the island to condemn the violence, labeling the shooting an “act of terrorism.”
On Tuesday, the transitional council established in April to restore democratic order in Haiti also condemned the violence.
“This cowardly crime, which threatens Haiti’s sovereignty and security, goals to isolate our country on the international stage. The perpetrators of those heinous acts shall be tracked down and brought to justice,” the council said in a press release.
The council has faced fierce criticism from many in Haiti who say its political struggles and corruption charges against three members has created political instability, allowing gangs to violently seize power, as happened on Monday.
This happened on the weekend when the primary shot was fired interim Prime Minister Garry Conille – he argued with the Council for a very long time. They replaced him with businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who was inaugurated on Monday surrounded by suit-wearing officials and diplomats as gangs terrorized the encompassing capital.
Neither Fils-Aimé nor Conille commented on the wave of violence.
Conille initially called the council’s move illegal, but on Tuesday he confirmed Fils-Aimé’s appointment in a post on the X social media platform.
“(I) wish him success in fulfilling this mission. At this crucial moment, unity and solidarity are essential for our country. Long live Haiti!” he wrote. Fils-Aimé promised to work with international partners to restore peace and hold long-awaited elections, a promise also made by his predecessor.
But many Haitians, like 43-year-old Martha Jean-Pierre, don’t have any taste for political fighting, which experts say only gives gangs more freedom to further expand their control.
Jean-Pierre was amongst those that braved the streets of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday to sell bananas, carrots, cabbage and potatoes, which she carried in a basket on her head. She said she had no alternative – selling was the one way she could feed her children.
“What good is a new prime minister if there is no security, if I cannot move freely and sell my goods?” she said, nodding at her basket of vegetables. “This is my bank account. My family depends on it.”
The frustration alarmed international actors comparable to the UN and the US, who called for a peaceful resolution to the situation in Haiti.
On Tuesday, the US State Department regretted that Conille and the Council had been “unable to make progress in a constructive manner” and called on Fils-Aimé and the Council to present a transparent plan of motion with a shared vision to reduce violence and pave the way in which for an electoral path that is meant to “prevent further deadlock.”
“The urgent and immediate needs of the Haitian people compel the interim government to prioritize governance over the competing personal interests of political actors,” the statement said.
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