Former MSNBC host and ex-Goldman Sachs banker Carlos Watson has been sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison in a federal financial conspiracy case that cast Ozy Media outfit as an extreme form of fake-it-’til-you-make-it startup.

Watson, 55, and the now-defunct Ozy Media were found guilty last summer of charges including wire fraud conspiracy. He has denied the allegations.

Prosecutors accused the former cable news commentator and host of playing a leading role in a scheme to deceive Ozy investors and lenders by inflating revenue numbers, touting deals and offers that were non-existent or not finalized, and flashing other false indications of Ozy’s success.

Watson even listened in and texted talking points while his co-founder posed as a YouTube executive to praise Ozy on a phone call with potential investors, prosecutors said.

The California-based Ozy media is credited with TV productions, newsletters, podcasts, and a music-and-ideas festival. Watson hosted several of the TV programs, including the Emmy-winning “Black Women OWN the Conversation,” which appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

The company strained to make payroll, ran late on rent and took out pricey cash advances to pay bills, former finance vice president Janeen Poutre told jurors. Meanwhile, Ozy gave prospective investors much bigger revenue numbers than those it reported to accountants, according to testimony and documents.

The company disintegrated in 2021, after a New York Times column disclosed the phone-call impersonation gambit and raised questions about the true size of the startup’s audience.

Watson continues to deny the allegations and says he plans to appeal the verdict.