Scandal-Plagued Ozy Media Reportedly Under Federal Investigation
Scandal-plagued Ozy Media is being investigated by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in parallel investigations into its business practices, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
Citing “people with knowledge of the matter,” the Times notes that the precise focus of the investigations could not be determined. Ozy Media announced on October 1st that it was shutting down after a bombshell report in the Times detailed how officials in the company mislead Goldman Sachs, which was considering an investment, by impersonating a YouTube executive to claim that Ozy Media’s videos were popular on the website. However, days later Ozy said it’s actually coming back.
New York Times media reporter Ben Smith, who broke the Ozy story, wrote at the time, “Trying to fool the world’s most famous bank, even by the hype-ridden standards of the media business, is way over the line.”
The Times reports:
Carlos Watson, Ozy’s chief executive, referred to the investigations in an emailed letter to investors last month. In the email, which was reviewed by The New York Times, Mr. Watson wrote that Ozy had “heard from” the S.E.C. and the Justice Department, adding that the company had enlisted the law firm Zuckerman Spaeder “to help us navigate the investigations.”
The “new-wave media company” focused on “the new and the next” created general interest content on its website, podcasts, talk shows, documentary videos, but was perhaps best known for its now-defunct festival Ozy Fest – which was marketed very heavily and cancelled last minute.
