WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of Ozy Media co-founder Carlos Watson on Friday, just before he was due to report to prison for a nearly 10-year sentence in a financial conspiracy case.
Watson was convicted last year in a closely watched case that showcased the implosion of an ambitious startup company.
The commutation was confirmed by a senior White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the decision and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Breon Peace, who was serving as the Brooklyn-based U.S. attorney at the time, said after the trial that the jury determined that “Watson was a con man who told lie upon lie upon lie to deceive investors into buying stock in his company.”
Ozy Media “collapsed under the weight of Watson’s dishonest schemes,” Peace said.
Trump has been aggressively using his presidential powers to commute sentences and pardon people who he believes were treated unfairly by the justice system.