Trump Commutes Sentence of Ozy Media Founder

Carlos Watson had his criminal fraud sentence commuted by President Trump on Friday, shortly before the founder of Ozy Media was to begin serving a 116-month prison sentence. Watson was convicted last year of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. At the same time, Trump commuted the sentence of probation for Ozy Media for its conviction in the multimillion-dollar scheme, CNBC reports.

Last month, a federal judge ordered Watson and Ozy to pay more than $36 million in restitution and nearly $60 million in forfeiture, per Courthouse News Service. "Carlos Watson orchestrated a years-long, audacious scheme to defraud investors and lenders to his company, Ozy Media, out of tens of millions of dollars," a prosecutor said at sentencing in December. (More Carlos Watson stories.)