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Sundar Pichai testifies in $600 million financial fraud case, Ozy Media acquisition questioned
Google CEO Sundar Pichai testified in a fraud case going on against Ozy Media co-founder Carlos Watson. It denied any intention to buy the startup amid allegations of financial fraud and false claims of Google's interest. In this scam, Ozy's COO Sameer Rao presented himself as a YouTube executive.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, testified in an ongoing fraud case against Ozy Media co-founder Carlos Watson. Pichai's testimony directly challenged Watson's claims that Google was interested in acquiring Ozy.
Watson is accused of deceiving investors by exaggerating Ozy's commercial success. A central element of this scheme also included falsely claiming Google's intention to buy Ozy for 'hundreds of millions of dollars'.
Ozy, a well-known media firm, fell once previously when the New York Times disclosed that COO Sameer Rao posed as a top YouTube official during a conversation with Goldman Sachs financiers. The move was part of Watson and Rao's attempt to deceive investors into believing Ozy was a lucrative business.
While Google never contemplated acquiring Ozy, Pichai did confess to considering Watson for the leadership position in news programming. The hiring could result in a $25 million investment in Ozy, although it is not being marketed as an acquisition bid.
