"It did become an obsession.. Finally, the OSC discovered something that cracked the case wide open. Cotten encrypted and stored about $190 million worth of his customers' Bitcoin caches and held sole responsibility for the passwords needed to access those funds. Now . Still, questions about the missing money only mounted when two. I put myself into a deep hole and the only way to dig out of it was to sell my house.. An official investigation concluded that Quadriga was"an old-fashioned fraud wrapped in modern technology". There was no autopsy on the body, for instance, and Cotten had signed his will two weeks after he diedleaving his riches to Jennifer. [52], The CBC released a 6-episode podcast about Quadriga and the death of its founder called A Death in Cryptoland. You transferred them $1,000 and you could see the crypto in your account. Despite no concrete evidenceindeed, the murdered mans. There's only two people who really know what happened in India. The mystery of Cotten and Quadriga is now the subject of podcasts Exit Scam and A Death In Cryptoland. Fourteen trading accounts that were also examined were used to trade on other exchanges. 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,. Cotten was the only one with access to necessary permissions. "You appear dead for a few days, until you get the cure," the source said. 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. They surfed his social media accounts at first, then traced Cottens digital footprints even more closely for clues. So the Globe goes to Cottens hospital in India to put the whole fake death thing to bed. Was Patryn, whom employees described as a macho, terrifying character, calling the shots, not Cotten? Netflixs documentary definitely seems to be in the corner that Cotten did die, despite the mystery surrounding his death. 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. It was alleged that Patryn was involved in a money-laundering ring under a different nameOmar Dhanani. The Crypto King, aka Gerald "Gerry" Cotten, died in 2018, but his mysterious death is still a subject of controversy today. No one but him can access accounts, he ran a whole market on a laptop by himself with no other employees or partners anymore so only he could access it and he suddenly dies when he would be in massive debt for delayed payments and would likely be convicted for fraud or money laundering. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King. There is a clear lesson here that having a single person owning this information creates a huge vulnerability.. Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 4 to release Fall 2023, confirms new trailer, {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. The two first met in November 2014 and had been together for some time before tying the knot in October 2018. Sign up for notifications from Insider! https://bit.ly/3cAIH4j Newest Vid's https://bit.ly/3JkFmEqFollow Us On Facebook https://bit.ly/3oh5cS8Gerald Cotten or Gerry Cotten's life and tragic passing are shrouded in mystery. He died just nine days into his honeymoon due to an acute stomach ache. Gerald Cotten. His death certificate spells his name wrong, he was supposedly buried in a closed casket in Canada even though there is no evidence his body was ever moved from India and why would it need to be a closed casket? 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 only catch: only Gerry knew the passwords to the companys crypto-vaults. 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. Indian authorities maintain that Cotten, whose body was repatriated to Nova Scotia for a small closed-casket funeral, died on Dec. 9, 2018, shortly after checking into a luxury hotel in Jaipur. Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. 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. Still, all this evidence was circumstantialinvestors hadnt yet found a smoking gun. A C$100,000 trust fund was made to provide lifelong care for Cotten's two chihuahuas in case of Robertson's death. A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents. Cryptocurrency investors locked out of $190m after exchange founder dies, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. In that case, $851 million entrusted to Crypto Capital had been "lost, stolen or absconded with", according to the suit. He was 30-years-old. [33], Cotten's will was signed 27 November 2018, twelve days before he allegedly died. Lammer believes the evidence does suggest that Cotten died suddenly - having battled Crohn's disease for a number of years, even though the timing was suspicious. Customers have since struggled to regain access to their money, citing withdrawl issues and lack of communication from the company. But even the forensic accountants only managed to trace $46 million of the total $215 million customers had deposited onto the exchange. 4 people named Gerald Betzen found in California, Texas and Massachusetts. And, wildly, was Jennifer, his wife, even real? So, Patryn: shit-stirrer, criminal mastermind or another one beguiled by Cotten? Netflix has seen a boom with its true-crime docuseries, from 'Tiger King' to 'Making a Murderer.' No longer a likable nerd, investors thought that Gerald, now sceptre, had been operating scams since he was 15. I believe this is the reason why Quadriga could be formed because they made a fortune from Scamming before Quadriga. Investors tried to pull their money from Quadriga, but sometimes faced month-long delays. 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. G erald Cotten was 15 when he ran his first documented get-rich-quick scheme. After some more digging, the reporter found an order form filled out by one Gerald Cotten. Reported by Fansided, Globe and Mail journalist Nathan Vanderklippe spoke to Dr. Sharma, who dealt with Cotten when he came into the hospital. 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. Zou trusted Quadriga CX, Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange, with C$500,000 (305,000). 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. The OSC tugged on the same thread, but neither could get hold of him. The 33-year-old has attempted to get his money back in a lawsuit, but hasn't had any luck as yet. Citing decomposition concerns, lawyers requested the exhumation be completed no later than spring 2020. According to the documentary, thats around the time that Cotten started to invest his money in islands, cars and property, traveling the world while running his exchange. Did he Die? The OSC. Netflix announced an upcoming documentary about the Quadriga Bitcoin saga and the death of CEO Gerald Cotten. Some people called for Geralds body to be exhumed. Then in January, 2019, Cottens wife Jennifer Robertson announced that he had died a month earlier. In December 2018, Cotten died during his honeymoon with his wife, Jennifer Robertson, in Jaipur, India. The user said that he left the company in 2016, and that the company was legitimate at the time. Gerald Cotten died suddenly of Crohn's disease - or did he? I just prayed. #GeraldCotten #QuadrigaCX #Netflix #truecrime #wherearetheynow #gerrycotten #crypto #fraud #docuseries #truestory #biography #whathappenedto ------------------------------------IN THIS VIDEO:Sierra Walker ------------------------------------PRODUCER \u0026 FILMED BY:Chris Stiuso------------------------------------VIDEO EDITED BY:Brianna Raakman: https://www.instagram.com/brianna_raakman/ 5 Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops delivered daily to your inbox. But Cotten was a bad trader: losing money hand over fist, he gambled away about $150 million of customer funds. Some evidence suggested that Jennifer, if real, was acting strangely. [33] Aaron Matthews served as Director of Operations. The shocking story has been recounted in a new Netflix documentary, Trust No One: The Hunt For The Crypto King. ", 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. For instance, had Cottens death certificate, which spelled his name as Cottan, been faked? Likewise, the public was not much intrigued about their lives up until . 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". Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? At this point, lots of investors think that Cotten, a man alleged to have a history of scamming, really had faked his own death. Robertsons sister, for the record, doesnt think that Cotten had fabricated his relationship with Jennifer. The media dragged Gerald Cotten's wife, Jennifer Robertson, into the spotlight after his mysterious death. 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. Gerald Cotten was 15 when he ran his first documented get-rich-quick scheme. Subsequent investigations found that Michael Patryn, one of the co-founders, registered the domain name for QuadrigaCXnot Gerry. The thing about conspiracy theories, though, is that they mutate out of control very quickly, and arent always reflective of the latest evidence. Some also believe that Gerald isnt even dead at all but rather hiding away with the hundreds of millions of dollars he controlled. By Robin Hill-Gray. firms", "What happens when your bitcoin banker dies? started to be convinced that he was dead, after all. Their online exchange launched after the first month. **Warning Spoilers ahead for Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King**. Cbc.ca. [2], In January 2019 Ernst & Young reported that Quadriga did not have a bank account, but instead used third-party payment processors. 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. 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. Exit Scam host Aaron Lammer told CoinDesk: "My read was that, on some level, Gerry was addicted to scamming, "Addicted to stealing peoples money. It apparently had no formal accounting system. Quadriga's accounts are estimated to have held 190million ($250million). 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. Then, out of the blue, one Mike Patryn joined the Telegram group that investors were using to discuss conspiracies. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. Gerald Cotten, 30, died abruptly in December 2018 of complications relating to Crohn's disease while on honeymoon in Jaipur, India, with his wife, Jennifer Robertson. 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. Gerald Cotten. [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. https://bit.ly/3cAIH4j Newest Vid's https:. Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten died in 2018, taking password to access funds with him Credit: Netflix. "[46] The Official Ontario Securities report on Quadriga is attached here. Things began to sour, however, in 2018, when the price of Bitcoin collapsed. The OSC found that after 2016, QuadrigaCX stopped producing consistent data about its holdings, and that large volumes of cryptocurrencies were being sent to foreign crypto exchanges. In November 2018 the case was decided with the accounts going to the court to decide the ownership individually. 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. (Neither men were charged in connection with Liberty Reserve). Still, questions about the missing money only mounted when two Globe and Mail reporters followed up on the case. at the time Canadas largest cryptocurrency exchange, Gerald Cotten, 30, died in questionable circumstances, Canadian company founder took crucial password to the grave. name was not the same as Robertsons ex-husband, some angry investors lobbed death threats at Jennifer, convinced that she had murdered Cotten, too. Cotten passed away from complications that arose from Crohn's disease while on a honeymoon in Indiaapparently taking some $215 million of customer funds to the grave. The firm launched in 2014 amid a spectacular rise in the price of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and was handling $1 billion in trades by 2017. , 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. After beginning as an entrepreneur, Cotten founded Quadriga Fintech Solutions in 2013 and the company evolved to become the largest crypto exchange in the country, and it even helped to legitimize Bitcoin. [9][10], The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were reportedly investigating the company. And who dies from Crohns disease at 24 years old? Netflix Special on Bitcoin Fraudster Gerald Cotten, His Wife, and QuadrigaCX. Image Source: Social Media. Dhanani also had pleaded guilty to burglary and grand theft charges and had been deported to Canada. Trust No One depicts Cotten as a nerdy, happy-go-lucky, and charming CEO, who was knee-deep in Bitcoin and a fierce advocate of the technology. His wife Jennifer Robertson said he had promised to create a mechanism that turned thepasswords over to her when he died. In January 2014 they installed the second Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver. 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. Someone tracked Patryn to a scam forum called TalkGold, where Patryn talked to one user in particular, sceptre, a bunch. About C$1.2 billion worth of bitcoin was exchanged on Quadriga. Was a recently-active Skype account proof he was still alive? By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider 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". Gerald Cotten, the founder of QuadrigaCX, was thought to have had sole access to the funds and coins exchanged on it. He graduated from York with a bachelor of business administration in 2010. Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. [4] Blockchain analysts have reported that they are unable to find evidence of Quadriga's cold wallets on the blockchain, a public ledger used for cryptocurrencies. [22][23] C$28 million held by Costodian, a Quadriga payment processor, was frozen by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) in January 2018. But when the banks, the law, and the. The couple were on their honeymoon in India, where Jennifer had dreams of opening an orphanage. 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. [7] Meanwhile, in order to manage the finances of the company during the process, a third-party monitor, Ernst & Young, was appointed. - Watch Full Details ! But the mingling didnt end there: the crypto kingpin also allegedly mixed client money with his own, according to investigators, funding the lavish lifestyle he became known for. 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. goes to Cottens hospital in India to put the whole fake death thing to bed. It was one of the only games in town [for crypto enthusiasts], Sheona McDonald, who directed the film, told The New York Post. Then, as their accounts accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars, Gerald passed unexpectedly, taking the passwords to the accounts to his grave. [42], Quadriga continued to accept deposits until 26 January. Even today, some investors remain unconvinced that Cotten really is dead. Gerald Cotten is allegedly meant to have died from Crohn's disease after the exchange crashed. 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. [48], On 5 February 2019, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Michael J. She has also said she has no idea what the passwords are to access sequestered customer funds, and that it wasnt written down anywhere. Many believe that Cotten faked his death, however, as part of an exit scam to get away with. Gerald Cleophas Betzen, 68. 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. So the. Quadriga started by doing only local trades. 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. Then the Ontario Securities Commission opened an investigation. 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. He first encountered Bitcoin in Vancouver, British . 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. But when co-founder Cotten died during a honeymoon in India, the money was seemingly lost forever. Cotten told a Globe and Mail reporter that the banks, which didnt trust crypto exchanges, had frozen the exchanges bank accounts. that after 2016, QuadrigaCX stopped producing consistent data about its holdings, and that large volumes of cryptocurrencies were being sent to foreign crypto exchanges. "Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King". 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. The podcast was hosted by Takara Small. She had accompanied him to a hospital in Jaipur the previous day and he was diagnosed with septic shock, perforation, peritonitis, and intestinal obstruction. Then you get rid of the fees. The investors found more questions than answers. I could have put it in stocks. He would then use this crypto to make investments himself on other digital exchanges as he furnished his own pockets at the expense of his investors, according to accounting firm Ernst & Young. [17], Ernst & Young reported on 6 February 2019 that C$468,675 (US$354,300) of bitcoin were "inadvertently" sent to an inaccessible cold wallet. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Its pretty much money by people for people.. The laptop computer from which Gerry carried out the companies business is encrypted and I do not know the password or recovery key. Uncertainty about the missing funds has fueled speculation that Cotten may still be alive. Even after Cotten's death news, some people still believe that he is alive, and one of the main reasons is because of his mysterious death. [17] In a 2014 interview, founder Gerald Cotten explained that the company stored customer funds on paper wallets in safe deposit boxes: "So we just send money to them, we dont need to go back to the bank every time we want to put money into it. 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. Netflix announced an upcoming documentary about the Quadriga Bitcoin saga and the death of CEO Gerald Cotten. Cotten was young, energetic, passionate about cryptocurrency so when. 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. 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. She says she never received the passwords. His will was signed off just two weeks before he and wife Jennifer Robertson travelled to India on their honeymoon. Zou resorted to the cryptocurrency scheme to avoid bank charges when moving Vancouver, shifting his money from the US to a Canadian account. However, it was eventually discovered that Gerald had transferred all of his belongings to his wife before his death. So his spiral down into a life of crime was either pure greed or him seeking the thrill. Quadriga Fintech Solutions was the owner and operator of QuadrigaCX, which was believed to be Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange. 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. Quadriga Fintech Solutions was the owner and operator of QuadrigaCX, which was believed to be Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange.In 2019 the exchange ceased operations and the company filed for bankruptcy with C$215.7 million in liabilities and about C$28 million in assets.. Supposedly, Cottens business associates didnt even know he was married. [34][35], On 14 January 2019,[36] Quadriga announced that their CEO, Gerald Cotten, had died the month prior from Crohn's disease while doing volunteer work at an orphanage in India. Cottens death will likely remain a mystery, with some believing that he is still residing somewhere in the world with the stolen money. 'Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King' will be released sometime in 2022. Its the swindler story you havent heard of until now. Netflixs 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. 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. Neither Costodian or Quadriga could access the funds. That same month, Quadriga filed for creditor protection, and scores of angry investors began furiously questioning where their money went, even though only Mr Cotten knew the keys to the companys crypto vault and never set up a dead mans trigger to send them elsewhere in case he was incapacitated. 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. Gerald Cotten, 30, held the virtual keys to a whopping $137 . Gerald Gerry Cotten is the founder of Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Quadriga Fintech Solutions and is at the helm of a groundbreaking investment scam that the Netflix documentary investigates. [17], In 2016, Cotten became the sole director of Quadriga when all the other directors resigned.
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