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Carlos Watson, the chief executive and founder of now-defunct Ozy Media, could soon find himself behind bars over the recent civil lawsuit he filed against Buzzfeed, former Buzzfeed News editor-in-chief Ben Smith and Semafor, the news site that Smith launched in 2022.
The Eastern District of New York is accusing Watson, who was arrested on fraud charges last year for allegedly misleading investors of his flailing media company, of willfully violating a protective order by using documents procured during discovery of his criminal case. In a letter sent to Judge Eric Komitee on Wednesday, the district’s US attorneys are requesting a hearing to determine whether to revoke Watson’s bond and if the protective order needs to be modified.
According to the government, internal emails from Buzzfeed and Smith had been produced as discovery materials in its case against Watson, who is accused of defrauding Ozy investors of tens of millions of dollars by impersonating media company executives and making fraudulent misrepresentations about the business.