The Globe and Mail reporters were on the case, and used photos to conclude that they were the same person. - October, November, December - during all that time," he said. There's only two people who really know what happened in India. [53], A Netflix documentary titled Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King about the story of Gerald Cotten was released in March 2022. November 28, 2022 by Nurudeen. He convinced tons of investors to fork over their money so he could invest it into Crypto. [24][25][26], According to court filings, Quadriga also used WB21 as a payment processor. "What Quadriga really did with the money that customers gave it to buy Bitcoin remains a mystery," according to Chainalysis. Robertson has denied any knowledge of her husband's wrongdoing - and in 2019 returned $9million to the company to repay users. , initially diagnosed Cotten with little more than travelers diahrrea, but kept him in hospital just in case. Gerald Cotten was the founder of one of Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Quadriga CX. [17], In 2016, Cotten became the sole director of Quadriga when all the other directors resigned. Reported by Fansided, Globe and Mail journalist Nathan Vanderklippe spoke to Dr. Sharma, who dealt with Cotten when he came into the hospital. Supposedly, Cottens business associates didnt even know he was married. The investors found more questions than answers. Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere, she said in court filings. https://bit.ly/3cAIH4j Newest Vid's https:. #GeraldCottenReallyDead #GeraldCottenStillAliveGerald Cotten Really Dead ? [30], According to Jennifer Robertson, Cotten's widow, he died on 9 December 2018 while travelling in India. 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. Cotten had allegedly told his wife he would create a mechanism that would allow her to access all of his crypto-related passwords should he die but. Someone tracked Patryn to a scam forum called TalkGold, where Patryn talked to one user in particular, sceptre, a bunch. X-rays. Jilted investors of Cotton's crypto firm QuadrigaCX have demanded his corpse be exhumed and tests run to confirm its his body. The thing is, a CEOs death shouldnt lock customers out of their money. He was one of the wealthiest people in the crypto world, and his company was at its pinnacle. His body was repatriated to . "Once I deposited it, it was basically gone.". In that case, $851 million entrusted to Crypto Capital had been "lost, stolen or absconded with", according to the suit. The shocking story has been recounted in a new Netflix documentary, Trust No One: The Hunt For The Crypto King. Netflix announced an upcoming documentary about the Quadriga Bitcoin saga and the death of CEO Gerald Cotten. Netflix Special on Bitcoin Fraudster Gerald Cotten, His Wife, and QuadrigaCX. His will was signed off just two weeks before he and wife Jennifer Robertson travelled to India on their honeymoon. Another "appears to have been used to receive Bitcoin from another cryptocurrency exchange account and subsequently transfer Bitcoin to the Quadriga hot wallet" on 3 December. Was a recently-active Skype account proof he was still alive? I ended up losing my life savings I lost $400,000, Tong Zou, a tech worker quoted in the film, says. [52], The CBC released a 6-episode podcast about Quadriga and the death of its founder called A Death in Cryptoland. The only catch: only Gerry knew the passwords to the companys crypto-vaults. When Canadian blockchain whiz Gerald Cotten died unexpectedly last year, hundreds of millions of dollars in investor funds vanished into the crypto ether. Here's my take on Gerald Cotten and his suspicious death. Ernst & Young was able to recover $24m in cash and $9m in assets held by Robertson. Cotten's sudden death in 2018 led to the disappearance of millions of dollars. He was 30-years-old. We explain how to spot them. He passed away in 2018 with the secret of $250 million. And for some, things still looked suspicious. Robertson has not been accused of any wrongdoing - and has denied any knowledge of her husband's business dealings. Cotten In 2013 was looking for a programmer to help him create a bitcoin marketplace using the account name Murdoch1337 on a BlackHat Forum and this account was last seen active in August 2019 at this point he should have been "dead" for a long time. Given the intrigue, some went so far as to question whether Mr Cotten had really died and demanded his body be exhumed. [33] Aaron Matthews served as Director of Operations. Subsequent investigations found that Michael Patryn, one of the co-founders, registered the domain name for QuadrigaCXnot Gerry. We just send money from our Bitcoin app directly to those paper wallets, and keep it safe that way. But months later, customers still couldnt take their money out. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, A lost password, a sudden death and $180M in missing crypto, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off & extra perks with Booking.com Genius Membership, 50 cash with friend referrals at Virgin Mobile, 15% off extra plans with this Vodafone promo, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. Despite presenting himself as mild mannered and clean cut, Cotten was found to have had a history of carrying out financial cons - starting when he was just a teenager. The estate includes an airplane, a sailboat, a 2017 Lexus, and real estate in Nova Scotia and Kelowna, British Columbia. Dhanani also had pleaded guilty to burglary and grand theft charges and had been deported to Canada. Like many in the industry, he framed his enterprise not merely as a financial tool, but a radical societal change, touting the crypto gospel in podcast appearances and videos on YouTube. Still, questions about the missing money only mounted when two. It apparently had no formal accounting system. 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. But the money, of course, was still missing. But when co-founder Cotten died during a honeymoon in India, the money was seemingly lost forever. The documentary follows a group of Quadriga investors turned sleuths who dig into the suspicious death of Cotten and the millions of missing cryptocurrency they believe Cotten stole from them, according to a tweet from Netflix announcing the film. Quadriga's accounts are estimated to have held 190million ($250million). thinks that Gerald is deadnor did he ever meet his wife. Was Patryn, whom employees described as a macho, terrifying character, calling the shots, not Cotten? https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/hiring-a-programmer-website-like-bitstamp-bitcoin-trading-project.605236/. [19] Other than a few contractors, it had no employees, offices or bank accounts thereafter. Re-thinking indemnification for smart contract risks", "Bitcoin investors face long delays cashing out, criticize two B.C. Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. Gerald Cotten, 30, died abruptly in December 2018 of complications relating to Crohns disease while on honeymoon in Jaipur, India, with his wife, Jennifer Robertson. 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. Business picked up when Bitcoin hit the big time in 2017, reaching prices close to $20,000. 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. 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. 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. The streaming service announced the feature alongside a slate of upcoming true-crime projects last week. [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. Gerald Cotten had an estimated net worth of $80 million at the time of his death. Everyone knows the story about the now-defunct QuadrigaCX . Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King. March 30, 2022. Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness (Holt). Some evidence suggested that Jennifer, if real, was acting strangely. Many believe that Cotten faked his death, however, as part of an exit scam to get away with stealing millions from Quadrigas customers. 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. [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. [37] According to an affidavit by the CEO's widow, approximately 115,000 customers are owed C$250 million (US$190 million), most of which was cryptocurrency held in Quadriga's cold wallet in the laptop that only the deceased CEO had access to. 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. They surfed his social media accounts at first, then traced Cottens digital footprints even more closely for clues. Then, out of the blue, one Mike Patryn joined the Telegram group that investors were using to discuss conspiracies. And not even. The Crypto King, aka Gerald "Gerry" Cotten, died in 2018, but his mysterious death is still a subject of controversy today. Thinking that Jennifer had murdered Cotten, the Telegram group spiraled out of control. Following Quadrigas implosion in 2019, it was investigated by the Ontario Securities Commission, which concluded that, "what happened at Quadriga was an old-fashioned fraud wrapped in modern technology. He was 30-years-old at the time of his death. 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. At this point, lots of investors think that Cotten, a man alleged to have a history of scamming, really had faked his own death. Gerald Cotten is allegedly meant to have died from Crohns disease after the exchange crashed. 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. Then, the crypto millionaire suddenly died in India from complications from Crohn's disease about three years ago. Did he Die? [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. ^ "Quadriga CEO's widow speaks out over his death and the missing crypto millions". It was one of the only games in town [for crypto enthusiasts], Sheona McDonald, who directed the film, told The New York Post. When Taylor Monahan, founder of MyCrypto, examined the exchanges cold wallets, she couldnt find the lost crypto. 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." Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten | FAKE Behind 'Hunt For The Crypto King' Netflix | Where Are They Now?Subscribe Here! Someone tracked Patryn to a scam forum called TalkGold, where Patryn talked to one user in particular, sceptre, a bunch. 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. The OSC tugged on the same thread, but neither could get hold of him. Mr Patryn pled guilty in 2005 to working in an identity fraud ring, and did business under a company called Midas Gold as an intermediary with Liberty Reserve, a Costa Rican digital currency firm busted as one of the largest money laundering operations in history. 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. On 10 December, a death certificate was issued by the local municipality as well as a "no objection certificate" from the police to return the body to Nova Scotia. The crypto entrepreneur bought increasingly lavish purchases: a $600,000 yacht, a high-end Lexus, 17 homes in Canada, a plane. [48], On 5 February 2019, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Michael J. An official investigation concluded that Quadriga was"an old-fashioned fraud wrapped in modern technology". A C$100,000 trust fund was made to provide lifelong care for Cotten's two chihuahuas in case of Robertson's death. Angry and suspicious investors congregated on Reddit and Telegram to try to get to the bottom of the mystery. 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. Robertsons sister, for the record, doesnt think that Cotten had fabricated his relationship with Jennifer. Thats when the Globe started to be convinced that he was dead, after all. She had accompanied him to a hospital in Jaipur the previous day and he was diagnosed with septic shock, perforation, peritonitis, and intestinal obstruction. Netflix has tried to get to the bottom of things in its new 90-minute doc; read on to uncover the wild tale of Gerald Cotten. And why did the Indian hospital that treated Cotten misspell his name on his death certificate? 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. Netflixs documentary definitely seems to be in the corner that Cotten did die, despite the mystery surrounding his death. (Neither men were charged in connection with Liberty Reserve). 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. Gerald Cotten. ", 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. Some have speculated that Gerald Cotten faked his own death and basically got a knock-off death certificate in India or perhaps he was killed by his business partners but even the death itself is incredibly suspicious. [2], In January 2019 Ernst & Young reported that Quadriga did not have a bank account, but instead used third-party payment processors. So what exactly happened to Cotten, and is he still alive somewhere sitting on a mountain of stolen crypto? Cotten's widow has rarely spoken publicly, but in an affidavit has described herself as being subject to "slanderous comments" over accusations her husband faked his death. Cbc.ca. A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops delivered daily to your inbox. She has also said she has no idea what the passwords are to access sequestered customer funds, and that it wasnt written down anywhere. 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. The laptop computer from which Gerry carried out the companies business is encrypted and I do not know the password or recovery key. I think there were a couple years when it ran legitimately I dont think Gerry could have imagined a future with money pouring in the way it eventually did.. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Gerald Cleophas Betzen, 68. And not even he thinks that Gerald is deadnor did he ever meet his wife. I didnt know that Gerry was married, he says. Gerald Cotten is a bitcoin millionaire from Canada whose death, supposedly from complications relating to Crohn's disease, is now being questioned.
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