Google CEO Pichai Testifies at Ozy Trial, Turns Down $600 Million Offer | World News

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Watson is accused of defrauding investors out of tens of millions of dollars by lying about Ozy’s business success, including boasting that Alphabet’s Google had offered to buy the company for “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The once-high-flying media startup collapsed after The New York Times reported in 2021 that COO Samir Rao posed as a senior executive at Google’s YouTube unit to congratulate Ozy during a February 2021 call with bankers at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Rao, who pleaded guilty, earlier said it was part of his and Watson’s plan to deceive investors into believing that ‘Ozy was profitable.

Pichai told a jury in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday that an Ozy acquisition had never been discussed but that Google was considering hiring Watson to head its news programs. A $25 million investment in Ozy was reportedly part of that deal.

No offer

“Mr. Watson was a vital part of Ozy Media and we were considering investing in the company to ease the transition,” Pichai testified.

“Have you ever offered to buy Ozy Media for $600 million? » asked prosecutor Dylan Stern.

“No,” Pichai said.

In his opening statement at trial, Stern said Watson used Google’s fake offer to lure another investor from Ozy following the incident with Goldman.

“When the Goldman deal fell through, Watson found another victim and tricked her into investing $20 million in Ozy by telling them that the Google CEO himself had offered to buy Ozy for hundreds of million dollars,” Stern said. “It was a lie. But Watson didn’t let the truth stand in his way.

Although Watson reportedly claimed to have a deep relationship with the Google boss, Pichai said they had only spoken twice. The first was a “just a few minutes” conversation at a conference, while the second was Watson’s job interview on February 25, 2021, weeks after Goldman’s call.

Watson didn’t get the job.

“Most disturbing”

Hillel Moerman, one of two Goldman bankers who were present on the Feb. 2, 2021, call, also testified Friday when Rao posed as YouTube executive Alex Piper. Moerman told jurors it was “one of the most disturbing calls I’ve dealt with in my career.”

Moerman described it as “a surreal experience.” The person spoke in an unusually deep voice.

Goldman was considering a $35 million investment in Ozy and requested the call after Watson claimed YouTube was one of Ozy’s “most important” clients. Rao testified that he used a voice-altering app to conceal his identity and that Watson, who sat nearby as he spoke to the bankers, advised him on what to say.

Another Goldman banker, Allison Berardo, said Thursday that what she and Moerman heard on the call “didn’t sound like a human voice.”

“We were both in shock,” Moerman said. “Something was wrong.”

Shortly after the call, bankers canceled plans to invest in Ozy.

Jurors also heard Friday from Ozy’s chief of staff, Suzee Han, who pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors.

“I lied about Ozy’s past performance and historical financial data,” Han said. “We, and I mean Carlos, lied about how the company was doing at that time, therefore the current performance of the company. We lied about how the company was going to perform.