While Robertson has possession of the laptop containing the necessary passwords, she remains locked out. Cotten told a Globe and Mail reporter that the banks, which didnt trust crypto exchanges, had frozen the exchanges bank accounts. Like other crypto-exchanges, Quadriga kept its funds in so-called cold wallets, digital storage devices not connected to the internet, which are safe from hacking. In their letter to the RCMP the law firm underlined the need for certainty around the question of whether Mr Cotten is in fact deceased. While the large increase in volume increased commissions, it also caused cash-flow problems due to the exchange's reliance on external payment processors and its lack of a proper accounting system. Quadriga had four employees in 2015 with offices in Vancouver and Toronto, but ran out of money by June 2015. More than three years after the sudden death of Quadriga CEO Gerald Cotten and the revelations that the company was a massive cryptocurrency scam, his widow, Jennifer Robertson, tells her side of the story.#Quadriga #GeraldCotten #BitcoinWatch The National live on YouTube Sunday-Friday at 9 p.m. ETSubscribe to The National: https://www.youtube.com/user/CBCTheNational?sub_confirmation=1Connect with The National online:Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/thenationalTwitter | https://twitter.com/CBCTheNationalInstagram | https://www.instagram.com/cbcthenationalMore from CBC News | https://www.cbc.ca/newsThe National is CBC's flagship nightly news program, featuring the day's top stories with in-depth and original journalism, with hosts Adrienne Arsenault and Andrew Chang in Toronto, Ian Hanomansing in Vancouver and the CBC's chief political correspondent, Rosemary Barton in Ottawa. [21], Throughout 2018, as Bitcoin prices crashed, customers of the exchange reported delays when attempting to withdraw dollars. Zou trusted Quadriga CX, Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange, with C$500,000 (305,000). Photo by Gaetano Cessati on Unsplash. They surfed his social media accounts at first, then traced Cottens digital footprints even more closely for clues. It apparently had no formal accounting system. [42], Quadriga continued to accept deposits until 26 January. Its the swindler story you havent heard of until now. "[18], The company tried to raise money and list on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) working with Patryn. CRYPTO scams are popping up all over the internet. Cotten and Patryn's past: He's also been linked to many other "Cryptocurrency markets" in the past with his old partner Patryn who has changed his name twice because he was charged with laundering money. They reported that Jennifer said she couldnt get into Cottens laptops, and found an affidavit from Robertson saying that she didnt understand how QuadrigaCX operatedeven though one of Robertsons companies later wired cash to some of Quadrigas customers. [32] It also stated that Quadriga has 363,000 registered users and a sum of C$250 million is owed to 115,000 affected users. It's clear to me that Cotten gave himself millions of dollars worth of crypto as the owner to trade people fake crypto and give himself millions of dollars. You get rid of a lot of the regulations, he said on a podcast in 2014. So, Patryn: shit-stirrer, criminal mastermind or another one beguiled by Cotten? Gerald and Jennifer kept most of their relationship away from the public. [33] After the exchange was put into maintenance mode for several days in January, they announced on the 31st that they were applying for creditor protection. The user said that he left the company in 2016, and that the company was legitimate at the time. [15] He learned about Bitcoin in Toronto and travelled to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he founded Quadriga in November 2013 with Michael Patryn. He is believed to have scooped around around $115million in crypto from his own accounts and put them into high risk financial bets - many of which crashed, costing him more money than Quadriga ever actually made. Criminal probes continue by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI as leading digital investing publication Coindesk branded his death as the "crypto's biggest mystery". Fake trading: I'm almost certain that he was trading with fake crypto, Chris Markay was one of the accounts that Cotten used to trade his "crypto" he also is known to have other aliases Sceptre Gerry, Aretwo Deetwo and Seethree Peaohh. Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness (Holt). We just send money from our Bitcoin app directly to those paper wallets, and keep it safe that way. I just prayed. A NEW documentary on rogue crypto trader Gerald Cotton, who took up to $215million in Bitcoin and other digital currencies to his grave, has sparked rumours he may have faked his death. One source in the doco goes as far as to claim Cotton may have used a substance known as "Haitian zombie powder" to fake his death. So, Patryn: shit-stirrer, criminal mastermind or another one beguiled by Cotten? The business was run from Cotten's encrypted laptop from Cotten's home in Fall River, Nova Scotia. Mom 'stabs 3 of her kids to death and wounds 2 others in unsupervised visit', Daughter of murdered couple linked to Delphi case reveals paranoia, Serena Williams stepmom's debts continue to spiral amid crumbling home battle, Alex Murdaugh looks unrecognizable in new mugshot hours after sentencing, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP. Then Cotten took a turn for the worse: he went into cardiac arrest three times; the third time, the doctors couldnt revive him and declared him dead. Browse Locations. And, wildly, was Jennifer, his wife, even. Netflix Special on Bitcoin Fraudster Gerald Cotten, His Wife, and QuadrigaCX. The couple were on their honeymoon in India, where Jennifer had dreams of opening an orphanage. Check out: Personal Finance Insider's picks for best cryptocurrency exchanges. But pour in it did. Ernst & Young was able to recover $24m in cash and $9m in assets held by Robertson. A 33-YEAR-OLD man lost his life savings after getting involved with a cryptocurrency trader who died, taking the password to access funds to the grave. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. And, wildly, was Jennifer, his wife, even real? Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere, she said in court filings. Given the intrigue, some went so far as to question whether Mr Cotten had really died and demanded his body be exhumed. Mr Cotten, 30 at the time of his death, seemed to be living the dream life of a financial titan. #GeraldCottenReallyDead #GeraldCottenStillAliveGerald Cotten Really Dead ? Was Patryn, whom employees described as a macho, terrifying character, calling the shots, not Cotten? She has also said she has no idea what the passwords are to access sequestered customer funds, and that it wasnt written down anywhere. He was able to keep the venture, called S&S Investments, going for three months, before it folded and investors money was gone. On the 9th, he allegedly died after episodes of cardiac arrest. Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. Like the end of a classic Ponzi, the OSC said that due to Cottens bad trades, QuadrigaCX couldnt afford to credit customers who withdrew funds. [28], Quadriga used an unusual teller-window system for customers to withdraw their money. Gerald Cotten is a bitcoin millionaire from Canada whose death, supposedly from complications relating to Crohn's disease, is now being questioned. [17] Michael Gastauer, Chief Executive of WB21, has been named in a civil lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a US$165 million fraud. ^ "Quadriga CEO's widow speaks out over his death and the missing crypto millions". [33] Aaron Matthews served as Director of Operations. "[46] The Official Ontario Securities report on Quadriga is attached here. It has led the pack of other streaming giants, producing the most projects in the true-crime genre as of 2020. Since his death, Cotten has been recast as a habitual scammer who would enjoy the thrill of knowing he was duping his customers and investors. Miller Thomson LLP sent a letter to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Friday, requesting authorities conduct an exhumation and postmortem autopsy on the body of Gerald Cotten, founder of QuadrigaCX, citing what the firm called the questionable circumstances around his death earlier this year. thinks that Gerald is deadnor did he ever meet his wife. Cotten passed away from complications that arose from Crohns disease while on a honeymoon in Indiaapparently taking some $215 million of customer funds to the grave. I believe this is the reason why Quadriga could be formed because they made a fortune from Scamming before Quadriga. A new documentary on his mysterious death called Dead Man's Switch: A Crypto Mystery, airing on Discovery+, looks into accusations the crypto king made off with millions in investors' cash. There was no autopsy on the body, for instance, and Cotten had signed his will two weeks after he diedleaving his riches to Jennifer. [42] Another three empty wallets were believed to possibly be owned by Quadriga. I put myself into a deep hole and the only way to dig out of it was to sell my house.. Thinking that Jennifer had murdered Cotten, the Telegram group spiraled out of control. The company's CEO and founder, Gerald William Cotten, allegedly died in 2018 after traveling to India. He would grow up to be a cryptocurrency entrepreneur and run Canadas largest crypto exchange, QuadrigaCX, before dying under bizarre circumstances in 2018, leaving investors looking for a missing $180 million Canadian dollars. She says she never received the passwords. Cotten's sudden death in 2018 led to the disappearance of millions of dollars worth of his investors' Bitcoin funds. Netflix announced an upcoming documentary about the Quadriga Bitcoin saga and the death of CEO Gerald Cotten. He appointed his wife as the executor of his estate, handing over a $9million real estate empire, his yacht and his Cessna plane - and he even left his two dogs an inheritance of $100,000. Companies have backups, safeguards to protect against this kind of thing. The young entrepreneur seemed to be at the height of his success, traveling around the world with his wife, Jennifer, and leading a jet-setting lifestyle. [48], On 5 February 2019, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Michael J. So the Globe goes to Cottens hospital in India to put the whole fake death thing to bed. In December of 2018, the jet-setting crypto couple headed to India for their honeymoon, where Mr Cotten died of complications from Crohns disease, 12 days after modifying his will. His death was kept secret for a month by the firm before it was finally announced - and it was found he had spent millions in investors' money funding his own lavish lifestyle. A Canadian bank froze another $21 million of funds. Investors who believed that Cotten had faked his own death and ran away with the money had made one huge assumption: that Cotten had money to steal. "I couldn't get any sleep. Then in January, 2019, Cottens wife Jennifer Robertson announced that he had died a month earlier. Business picked up when Bitcoin hit the big time in 2017, reaching prices close to $20,000. Everyone knows the story about the now-defunct QuadrigaCX . Is Gerald Cotten really dead? Directed by Luke Sewell, the original Netflix documentary Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King follows a group of cryptocurrency investors hired to investigate the death of exchange founder Gerry Cotten and the alleged $250 million that he stole from them. Cryptocurrency investors locked out of $190m after exchange founder dies, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. This was more of a gamblers high than a rich guys high as he pursued more and more of other peoples money, the stakes went up. It was one of the only games in town [for crypto enthusiasts], Sheona McDonald, who directed the film, told The New York Post. But when co-founder Cotten died during a honeymoon in India, the money was seemingly lost forever. [6], Ernst & Young was appointed as an independent monitor while Quadriga was granted temporary legal protection from its creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. The Netflix documentary will follow investors-turned-investigators looking into theories on the founder's sudden death. Gerald Cotten was the founder of one of Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Quadriga CX. Image Source: Social Media. Gerald Cotten was the talk of the cryptocurrency world in Canada after he introduced QuadrigaCX, a place where investors could buy and sell cryptocurrency. [7][8] On 8 April 2019 the firm entered bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act as the possibility of a successful reorganization appeared to be remote. [1], The company's CEO and founder, Gerald William Cotten, allegedly died in 2018 after traveling to India. Was, whom employees described as a macho, terrifying character, that Patryn was involved in a money-laundering ring under a different name, Then, out of the blue, one Mike Patryn joined the Telegram group that investors were using to discuss conspiracies. Something was afoot. I didnt know that Gerry was married, he says. The 33-year-old has attempted to get his money back in a lawsuit, but hasn't had any luck as yet. His wife has said she was "upset and disappointed" to learn about the extent of the fraud at her husbands company, writing in a 2019 statement, she wasnt aware or involved in Gerrys trading activities, nor his appropriation of customer funds." I could have put it in stocks. The estate includes an airplane, a sailboat, a 2017 Lexus, and real estate in Nova Scotia and Kelowna, British Columbia. ET. I ended up losing my life savings I lost $400,000, Tong Zou, a tech worker quoted in the film, says. Many believe that Cotten faked his death, however, as part of an exit scam to get away with stealing millions from Quadrigas customers. Still, all this evidence was circumstantialinvestors hadnt yet found a smoking gun. November 28, 2022 by Nurudeen. did gerry and his wife fake his passing and steal the money? [33], Cotten's will was signed 27 November 2018, twelve days before he allegedly died. But, due to the strict security of crypto, we may never know. The doctor stated that while dying from Crohns disease is very rare, Cotten appeared to show signs of illness and suffered from three heart attacks in the same day the paramedics were unable to resuscitate him after his third cardiac arrest. , and found an affidavit from Robertson saying that she didnt understand how QuadrigaCX operatedeven though one of Robertsons companies later wired cash to some of Quadrigas customers. Then, out of the blue, one Mike Patryn joined the Telegram group that investors were using to discuss conspiracies. lets break it all down. March 30, 2022. Someone tracked Patryn to a scam forum called TalkGold, where Patryn talked to one user in particular, sceptre, a bunch. The podcast was reported by Aaron Lammer and Lane Brown.[55]. Fifteen years later, Mr Cotten, known as Gerry, would be accused of swindling people online of a much bigger prize. Gerald Cotten (born 11 May 1988)[14] lived in Belleville, Ontario before attending the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. The Crypto King, aka Gerald "Gerry" Cotten, died in 2018, but his mysterious death is still a subject of controversy today. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. April 2, 2022 Netflix Nobody was expecting Gerald Cotten, the CEO of Canadian Bitcoin exchange QuadrigaCX, to die at 30. Cotten's sudden death in 2018 led to the disappearance of millions of dollars. firms", "What happens when your bitcoin banker dies? Still, all this evidence was circumstantialinvestors hadnt yet found a smoking gun. Further complicating the matter the company's co-founder Michael Patryn was revealed to actually be a man named Omar Dhanani, who had previously been convicted in the US of identity fraud. [16] In 2014 only C$7.4 million worth of bitcoin were exchanged on Quadriga. pic.twitter.com/rGymJ5f9Or. My sisters not a liar.. Netflix has tried to get to the bottom of things in its, Trust No One depicts Cotten as a nerdy, happy-go-lucky, and charming CEO, who was knee-deep in, reporter that the banks, which didnt trust crypto exchanges, had, The investors found more questions than answers. The laptop computer from which Gerry carried out the companies business is encrypted and I do not know the password or recovery key. Official investigations into the matter have yet to produce any definitive answers. "At that time, there was nothing I could do. Then you get rid of the fees. Now . For instance, had Cottens death certificate, which spelled his name as Cottan, been faked? Gerald died while on a honeymoon with his wife Jennifer in India, Cotten has been recast since his death as a thrill-seeking scammer, Michael Patryn - real name Omar Dhanani - had previously been convicted of identity fraud, Bitcoin miner electrocuted to death by his computer after forcing it to churn out endless amounts of crypto. Neither Costodian or Quadriga could access the funds. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Here's a link to the BlackHat forum. Both Canadas tax authorities and the FBI are also investigating the company. ", "Vancouver crypto exchange, CIBC clash over frozen accounts", "Judge rules with CIBC, grants possession of disputed Quadriga funds to Ontario Superior Court", "The fintech 'genius' accused in $165m fraud", "Crypto Firm Cited in Bitfinex Case Had Also Worked With Quadriga", "Quadriga co-founder served time in U.S. for role in identity-theft ring, documents reveal", "Criminal Past Haunts Surviving Founder of Troubled Crypto Exchange", "Crypto firm CEO with $190 million password did die in Jaipur hospital", "Cryptocurrency Exchange Says It Can't Access $190 Million After CEO Unexpectedly Died", "Millions in cryptocurrencies frozen in Canada after only person who had password dies in India", "Crypto Exchange Founder Filed Will 12 Days Before He Died", "Quadriga CEO, whose death ignited a cryptocurrency storm, a kind man with taste for fine things, say friends", "Crypto Exchange Mystery Deepens as Board Seeks Court Protection", "Crypto exchange Quadriga files for creditor protection", "Quadriga mystery deepens with little evidence of cold wallets containing $250M", "A Crypto-Mystery: Is $136 Million Stuck or Missing? The Globe and Mail reporters were on the case, and used photos to conclude that they were the same person. Overcast with rain showers at times. The teen, a bright computer enthusiast from Belleville, Ontario, ran the operation on an online forum called TalkGold, and promised his investors inconceivable returns of up to 150 per cent in two days. Cotten was the only one with access to necessary permissions. And meanwhile, Dead Man's Switch director Sheona McDonald said: "There's only two people who really know what happened in India.".