Mike RamosCarlos Watson Latest Updates 2024
Tuesday, May 14, 2024: Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, California. In a brief statement on Friday, Google CEO Sundar Pinchai refuted founder Carlos Watson‘s allegations that the search engine behemoth had previously attempted to acquire Ozy Media in the federal financial conspiracy trial involving the buzz-to-bust startup. (AP Photo/File: Jeff Chiu)
In a brief statement on Friday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai refuted founder Carlos Watson allegations that the search engine giant had previously attempted to purchase buzz-to-bust startup Ozy Media in the federal financial conspiracy trial surrounding the company.
Latest Updates About the Carlos Watson:
Pichai informed jurors that in 2021, Google did contemplate offering Watson a position as a high-level news executive and contributing $25 million to Ozy as a sort of compensation for luring him away.
He clarified, “Mr. Watson was a crucial component of Ozy Media, and we were thinking about investing in the business to make the transition easier.”
However, “did you ever make a $600 million offer to buy Ozy Media?” Dylan Stern, the prosecutor, enquired.
The head of Alphabet Inc. and Google, Sundar Pichai, answered, “No.”
He claimed to have met Watson at a conference and later during a video interview where the two interacted with media outlets in hopes of landing a potential Google position. In the end, neither the $25 million investment nor the hire materialised.
Prosecutors claim that Watson later informed a different potential investor that Pichai had made a nine-figure offer to purchase Ozy. Before collapsing in the autumn of 2021, the Mountain View, California-based company produced podcasts, TV shows, and a music and ideas festival. There were concerns raised about whether the company had blatantly misrepresented its audience reach, deals, and finances.
Shannon Frison, a lawyer for Ozy Media, stated via email on Friday that Watson’s claim that Google had made a $600 million offer is “unequivocally untrue.”
Frison stated, “He never had such a conversation with Google and never told anyone that he did.”
Ozy Media Updates 2024 :
Watson and Ozy Media have entered a not guilty plea to various charges, including fraud conspiracy. He has maintained that he didn’t con anyone, that he established a strong and legitimate business, and that he is the target of prosecution for what were, at most, minor business “mistakes.”
Defense lawyers have blamed any misrepresentations on Ozy co-founder Samir Rao, saying he is falsely implicating Watson in hopes of avoiding prison himself. Rao pleaded guilty to identity theft and conspiring to commit fraud, and he is awaiting sentencing.
He testified earlier in the trial that his “moral compass” got scrambled by ambition, desperation to keep the company going and “Carlos’ deep belief that failure was not an option and we had to do whatever it took.”
Among other deceit, Rao infamously posed as a YouTube executive — even using a phone app to disguise his voice — in order to champion Ozy to Goldman Sachs investment bankers on a February 2021 call.
The episode was described as “a surreal experience” by Goldman executive Hillel Moerman, who testified on Friday, calling it “one of the most disturbing calls that I have ever been on in my career.”
Rao stated in court that he performed the phone trick to support a fabricated allegation that YouTube was funding Watson’s talk show of the same name. “I am a big fan of Carlos, Samir, and the show,” read one text that jurors saw, according to Rao, who claimed Watson was with him during the call and gave him advice on what to say.
According to defence attorney Ronald Sullivan Jr., Watson entered the room during the call, saw “a live train wreck” happening, and attempted to persuade Rao to end the discussion.
Among other indicators that the Goldman bankers were suspicious, Moerman remembered on Friday that the voice of the alleged YouTube executive seemed blatantly “off.”
Soon after, one of his coworkers gave the Alphabet-owned YouTube executive a call. The trick came apart. The prospect of a Goldman investment also vanished.
Moerman told the federal court jury in Brooklyn, “We had been lied to.” After the incident, Goldman Sachs continued to advertise with Ozy, according to Rao’s testimony.
Watson disclosed to the board of Goldman and Ozy that Rao had experienced a mental health episode. Rao admitted to the jury that he was not on a psychiatric break at the time, even though he was taking antidepressants.
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