Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, BLOCKCHAIN—E.D.N.Y.: Former Ozy Media executives resolve SEC charges, (Mar 31, 2026)
Organizations Mentioned:Ozy Media, Inc.
The SEC has resolved another crypto case, including a court order with a reduced officer and director bar for one defendant.
The SEC has resolved more of the charges it brought in its case against crypto firm Ozy Media, Inc. The latest resolution addresses the civil penalty phase for the firm’s former COO and its former chief of staff. The main takeaway from the two court orders is that the order dealing with the former COO reduced the number of years that individual will be subjected to an officer and director bar and, in essence, brings the bar to an end given the start date of the modified bar (SEC v. Rao, No. 23-cv-01424 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 18, 2026); SEC v. Han, No. 23-cv-01424 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 18, 2026)).
The two court orders address the SEC’s charges against Samir Rao, Ozy Media’s former COO, and Suzee Han, the company’s former chief of staff. According to a press release announcing the case had been resolved, the SEC explained that the complaint alleged that “Rao provided prospective investors with false financial information that vastly inflated Ozy Media's annual revenue by at least 100 percent annually from 2018 through 2020 and Han helped to prepare and disseminate these false statements to investors.”
Both Rao and Han were subjected to permanent injunctions not to violate the Exchange Act’s and the Securities Act’s antifraud provisions, contained in Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 and Securities Act Section 17(a).
The SEC’s press release, however, noted that Rao also had originally been subjected to a 10-year officer and director bar. But the latest court order resolving the agency’s charges against Rao modified that bar by shortening it from 10 years to three years. The court order specified that the bar was to run beginning March 14, 2023; the court’s latest order is dated March 18, 2026.
Previously, Ozy Media and one of its executives had been the subject of presidential actions that reduced their liability for criminal charges. Specifically, Ozy Media, Inc. and its co-founder, Carlos Roy Watson, received commutations.
The case is No. 23-cv-01424 (Rao) and (Han).
Judge: Vitaliano, E.
Companies: Ozy Media, Inc.
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