Money Grab/Pardon donors and drop cases against friends
Trump commutes Ozy Media founder’s fraud sentence
On March 28, 2025, Trump commuted the sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson, who had been sentenced to nearly 10 years and ordered, with his company, to pay almost $60 million in forfeiture and more than $36 million in restitution. Allies with access to the administration had lobbied for him.
What happened
In 2024 a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Carlos Watson, founder of Ozy Media, of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Ozy was a digital media startup that presented itself as a fast-growing success. The jury found Watson had inflated revenue figures and told investors and lenders that deals were final when they were not.
In December 2024 Watson was sentenced to 116 months in prison. In February 2025 a judge ordered Watson and Ozy to pay almost $60 million in forfeiture and more than $36 million in restitution. Watson had maintained that his prosecution was racially biased.
On March 28, 2025, hours before Watson was due to surrender at the federal prison in Lompoc, California, Trump commuted his sentence. His spokesperson said he learned of it on the flight to prison. Trump also commuted the one year of probation imposed on Ozy Media. Watson did not serve a day.
Who benefited
Watson avoided a nearly 10-year sentence entirely and was free the same day he was due in prison. Ozy Media’s corporate probation was also commuted. Whoever carried his case to the White House showed that a fraud sentence could be erased at the last hour.
Who wanted something
Watson and his supporters had pressed the case that his prosecution was selective. Allies with access to the administration lobbied for him. This record does not name who carried the case to the White House; no source reviewed identifies the intermediaries.
Who lost out
Ozy’s investors and lenders, whom the jury found were defrauded of tens of millions of dollars, lost out. The New York Times reported that Watson and Ozy were no longer on the hook for the roughly $96 million in restitution and forfeiture. The prison term meant to answer for the fraud was erased before it began.
Why it matters
A jury convicted Watson of defrauding investors, and Trump commuted his sentence hours before he was due in prison. According to the New York Times it also erased about $96 million owed to the people he defrauded. The clemency power has no check beyond the president.
Sources CNBCNBC NewsAxiosU.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney (primary)UPI