Photo by Gaetano Cessati on Unsplash. Supposedly, Cottens business associates didnt even know he was married. Customers reported that once they arrived, there was nobody in the office, or that there was no cash to be disbursed. Still, questions about the missing money only mounted when two. It comes as we revealed some of the world's biggest crypto scams following the case of Bitcoin tradersRaees Cajee, 21 and Ameer, 18,who fledSouth Africa after allegedly pocketing 2.5billion. Here's a link to the BlackHat forum. Netflix's 'Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King' explores the story of Gerald Cotten, founder and CEO of Canadian crypto exchange business QuadrigaCX, whose passed away unexpectedly in 2018. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. It apparently had no formal accounting system. For instance, had Cottens death certificate, which spelled his name as Cott, , been faked? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk, Ring removes free perks for millions of users, you'll have pay to get them back, Android users told check for five Google 'danger phrases' don't ignore list, Facebook's hidden list reveals if you're a 'target' for criminals, People are just realizing Apple upgraded the iPhone with 7 life-changing secrets, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Tong Zou tells his devastating story in new Netflix doc, Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten died in 2018, taking password to access funds with him. Reported by Fansided, Globe and Mail journalist Nathan Vanderklippe spoke to Dr. Sharma, who dealt with Cotten when he came into the hospital. Retrieved 18 January 2022. Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. Fourteen trading accounts that were also examined were used to trade on other exchanges. In December 2018, Cotten died during his honeymoon with his wife, Jennifer Robertson, in Jaipur, India. Someone tracked Patryn to a scam forum called TalkGold, where Patryn talked to one user in particular, sceptre, a bunch. The streaming service announced the feature alongside a slate of upcoming true-crime projects last week. Many believe that Cotten faked his death, however, as part of an exit scam to get away with stealing millions from Quadrigas customers. Mr Cotten, 30 at the time of his death, seemed to be living the dream life of a financial titan. Jilted investors in a defunct cryptocurrency company want to confirm the death of the business's founder by exhuming his remains. The tech-savvy individual traced domain names, links, and trades on the blockchain, discovering a lengthy track-record of schemes, from Mr Cottens early days on TalkGold, to his association with a business partner named Michael Patryn. There were other problems around that time. It has led the pack of other streaming giants, producing the most projects in the true-crime genre as of 2020. His body was embalmed and sent back to Canada for a closed-casket funeral. Evidence of him faking death: There's lots of bizaare things that are suspicious. 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. We explain how to spot them. 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. Cotten told a Globe and Mail reporter that the banks, which didnt trust crypto exchanges, had frozen the exchanges bank accounts. Living a jet set life, he cruised the world on yachts, flew in private jets and investigators even released photos of piles of cash on his kitchen table. 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. 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. To add credence to the theory that he faked his own death and is still alive, Bloomberg reported that the crypto exchange founder filed his will just 12 days before he apparently died. And not even. Furious investors continue to fight a legal battle to try and have Cotten's body exhumed as they believe his death was a cut and run scam. But when the banks, the law, and the. "I could have invested it in real estate. Investors tried to pull their money from Quadriga, but sometimes faced month-long delays. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. , one of the co-founders, registered the domain name for QuadrigaCXnot Gerry. [31], Robertson filed an affidavit on behalf of the company which included a "Statement of Death" for Cotten, filed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 12 December 2018. Then it emerged that Jennifer had legally changed her name three times in the past few years, and a man sharing one of her former last names was at the center of an unsolved murder case. We explain who Gerald Cotten is, the subject of this documentary, and reveal where he is now, including the mystery surrounding his downfall. Then in January, 2019, Cottens wife Jennifer Robertson announced that he had died a month earlier. Mr Cottens story is now the subject of the documentary Dead Mans Switch: A Crypto Mystery, which streams on Discovery+, and in the new memoir of wife Jennifer Robertson, Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal and the Missing Millions. I really prayed it wasn't a scam. But pour in it did. 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. The mystery of Cotten and Quadriga is now the subject of podcasts Exit Scam and A Death In Cryptoland. 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. The thing about conspiracy theories, though, is that they mutate out of control very quickly, and arent always reflective of the latest evidence. It left Robertson the entire C$9.6-million estate and named her as the trustee. Then you get rid of the fees. But months later, customers still couldnt take their money out. as well as other partner offers and accept our. In November 2018 the case was decided with the accounts going to the court to decide the ownership individually. The thing is, a CEOs death shouldnt lock customers out of their money. https://bit.ly/3cAIH4j Newest Vid's https:. [27] Another payment processor used by Quadriga, Crypto Capital, was named in a civil suit filed by the New York Attorney General in April 2019. A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents. Jennifer RobertsonGerry Cotten,. The funeral, according to a Redditor claiming to be a contractor for QuadrigaCX, said that it was a closed-casket affair, and that Jennifer was fake grieving and dancing at the funeral to bacchanalian excess, and even kicked out Geralds family. 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. (Neither men were charged in connection with Liberty Reserve). So the. did gerry and his wife fake his passing and steal the money? Cbc.ca. ", QuadrigaCX founder used aliases, moved assets into personal accounts: report, "Quadriga Crypto Mystery Deepens With 'Cold Wallets' Found Empty", "After founder's sudden death, cryptocurrency exchange can't access $190 million in holdings", "Crypto Mystery: Quadriga's Wallets Are Empty, Putting Fate Of $137 Million in Doubt", "Unable to Retrieve Money, Cryptocurrency Investors Want Dead Executive Exhumed", Crypto exchange Quadriga was a fraud and founder was running Ponzi scheme, OSC report finds, QuadrigaCX: A Review by Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission, Quadriga CEO's widow speaks out over his death and the missing crypto millions, "Quadriga Accidentally Moved More Bitcoin to an Inaccessible Wallet", "Quadriga Founder's Widow Seeks Repayment of Her Costs", "Quadriga Lawyer Withdraws Amid Conflict of Interest Concerns", "Hot Docs Shane Smith: Weve crossed the digital divide", "Exit Scam: A Podcast Series about the Death and Afterlife of Gerald Cotten", "More than $400,000 in QuadrigaCX cryptocurrency disappears into 'cold wallet', "Before Quadriga: How shady ventures in Gerald Cotten's youth led to the creation of his ill-fated cryptocurrency exchange", "Widow of Quadriga crypto founder Gerald Cotten says she had no idea about the $215-million scam", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quadriga_Fintech_Solutions&oldid=1141935834, Financial services companies established in 2013, Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Canada, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 17:09. The only catch: only Gerry knew the passwords to the companys crypto-vaults. Business picked up when Bitcoin hit the big time in 2017, reaching prices close to $20,000. I took out three loans from the bank and put it all into crypto. Cotton took with him to the grave the keys that allowed access to the digital vault containing his investors cash that they had ploughed into Quadriga CX. 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. So his spiral down into a life of crime was either pure greed or him seeking the thrill. Both Canadas tax authorities and the FBI are also investigating the company. [17][20], In 2017, Bitcoin experienced a speculative frenzy rising in price from about US$1,000 to almost US$20,000. Mar. But Cotten was a bad trader: losing money hand over fist, he gambled away about $150 million of customer funds. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? [9][10], The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were reportedly investigating the company. firms", "What happens when your bitcoin banker dies? lets break it all down. The company raised C$850,000 but cancelled plans to list on the exchange in early 2016. Gerald Cotten is still alive (proof) I remember exactly 2 and a half weeks ago, someone on this subreddit that was jokingly talking about gerald said "Watch Quadriga say that they can't access cold wallets because Gerald died and he was the only one with access to the keys". 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. In her memoir, Ms Robertson denies shes part of an elaborate plot to fake her husbands death, adding that speculation has led to death threats from stalkers demanding she returns the missing millions. [45], In June 2020, the Ontario Securities Commission officially concluded that Quadriga was indeed a fraud and a Ponzi scheme. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Investors are still hunting for millions in vanished cryptocurrencies, writes Josh Marcus, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Lawyers for customers of an insolvent cryptocurrency exchange have asked police to exhume the body of the companys founder, amid efforts to recover about $190m in Bitcoin which were locked in an online black hole after his death. Was the CEOknown for his luxurious lifestyle, which included jets, supercars and vacationsmurdered by a mob debt collector or a jealous lover? [16] In 2014 only C$7.4 million worth of bitcoin were exchanged on Quadriga. [43][44] On 13 December 2019, the court-appointed law firm representing the exchange's former users sent a letter to the RCMP asking that they exhume Cotten's body to confirm his identity and verify a cause of death. So what exactly happened to Cotten, and is he still alive somewhere sitting on a mountain of stolen crypto? After some more digging, the reporter found an order form filled out by one Gerald Cotten. Netflix's latest true crime doc, "Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King", seeks to unravel the mystery of Gerald Cotten, the CEO of crypto exchange QuadrigaCX, who died in 2018. They also found a substantial amount of money was used to fund a lavish lifestyle for the couple, including the use of private jets and luxury vehicles. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops delivered daily to your inbox. Quadriga CX was left owning its 76,000 investors around $215million (CAD). Soon enough, QuadrigaCXs customers struggled to withdraw money from the exchange. However, it was eventually discovered that Gerald had transferred all of his belongings to his wife before his death. started to be convinced that he was dead, after all. Cotten neglected to pass on the passwords to the accounts, and in 2019, when investigators tracked down Cotten's digital wallets, all the money was gone. Likewise, the public was not much intrigued about their lives up until . November 28, 2022 by Nurudeen. Died, and He Had the Passwords", "Pre-filing report of the proposed monitor", "Controversial QuadrigaCX cryptocurrency exchange placed in bankruptcy", "Quadriga Should Shift to Bankruptcy Proceedings, Monitor Says", "FBI Probing Bitcoin Exchange Quadriga Over Missing $136 Million, Source Alleges", "Quadriga: Lawyers for users of bankrupt crypto firm seek exhumation of founder", "How Gerald Cotten built Quadriga and created the ensuing crypto storm", "Ponzi Schemes, Private Yachts, and a Missing $250 Million in Crypto: The Strange Tale of Quadriga", "Geek Speak: Gerald Cotton, CEO of Quadriga CX", "Crypto chaos: From Vancouver to Halifax, tracing the mystery of Quadriga's missing millions", "Quadriga's late founder used to store clients' Bitcoin passwords on paper so they wouldn't get lost", "A crypto exchange CEO dies-with the only key to $137 million", "Details emerging about Gerald Cotten, the young founder of QuadrigaCX", "My smart contract just ate $14 millionnow what? When Canadian blockchain whiz Gerald Cotten died unexpectedly last year, hundreds of millions of dollars in investor funds vanished into the crypto ether. 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". name was not the same as Robertsons ex-husband, some angry investors lobbed death threats at Jennifer, convinced that she had murdered Cotten, too. Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness (Holt). Cotten also took flying lessons as he appeared to be possibly preparing for a life on the run. Supposedly, Cottens business associates didnt even know he was married. Cotton's sudden death from complications of Crohn's disease aged 30 shocked the crypto world - but many believe he may have faked his death in an elaborate "exit scam". Bankruptcy trustees have managed to recover around $34million from Quadriga and $12million in assests from Cotten's estate - but the rest remains locked away in the digital world of crypto. He is believed to have carried out Ponzi scheme scams since he was just 15 - such as playing a role in pre-crypto digital token eGold, according to investigator Amy Castor. Robertson has not been accused of any wrongdoing - and has denied any knowledge of her husband's business dealings. Cops believe that Quadriga CX was actually an wide-ranging Ponzi scheme - and Cotten would use fake accounts under the name "Chris Markay" to "buy" his customers Bitcoin using fake cash. By Robin Hill-Gray. Soon after his death, however, reports surfaced that nearly 80,000 users of QuadrigaCX at the time Canadas largest cryptocurrency exchange were unable to access funds totalling more $190m. Cottens death will likely remain a mystery, with some believing that he is still residing somewhere in the world with the stolen money. At this point, lots of investors think that Cotten, a man alleged to have a history of scamming, really had faked his own death. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King. Using a reputable custodian to hold the private keys outside the company is perhaps the best option to ensure these codes are not lost, Erik Wilgenhof Plante, the former CCO of the exchange BeQuant, told The Independent at the time. 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. [42], Quadriga continued to accept deposits until 26 January. Quadriga's customers are owed C$260 million in cryptocurrency and cash. The death, and the resulting collapse of Quadriga, set off a score of government and citizen investigations into how so much digital currency could be spirited away. But when co-founder Cotten died during a honeymoon in India, the money was seemingly lost forever. 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. Robertson has denied any knowledge of her husband's wrongdoing - and in 2019 returned $9million to the company to repay users. 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. Image Source: Social Media. Up to C$250 million (US$190 million) in cryptocurrency owed to 115,000 customers was missing[2] or could not be accessed because only Cotten held the password to off-line cold wallets. [42] Another three empty wallets were believed to possibly be owned by Quadriga. April 2, 2022 Netflix Nobody was expecting Gerald Cotten, the CEO of Canadian Bitcoin exchange QuadrigaCX, to die at 30. Widow of Quadriga crypto founder Gerald Cotten says she had no idea about the $215-million scam In an exclusive interview, Jennifer Robertson speaks out publicly about her deceased husband,.