Romanovs: The Missing Bodies, Articles G

But when co-founder Cotten died during a honeymoon in India, the money was seemingly lost forever. Check out: Personal Finance Insider's picks for best cryptocurrency exchanges. He was one of the wealthiest people in the crypto world, and his company was at its pinnacle. Then you get rid of the fees. He first encountered Bitcoin in Vancouver, British . And for some, things still looked suspicious. ET. Despite no concrete evidenceindeed, the murdered mans first name was not the same as Robertsons ex-husband, some angry investors lobbed death threats at Jennifer, convinced that she had murdered Cotten, too. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King is now streaming on Netflix. Thinking that Jennifer had murdered Cotten, the Telegram group spiraled out of control. Investors tried to pull their money from Quadriga, but sometimes faced month-long delays. The doctor, reported the Globe, initially diagnosed Cotten with little more than travelers diahrrea, but kept him in hospital just in case. 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. Facebook / Remembering Gerry Cotten In the weeks since Quadriga Fintech Solutions Corp. belatedly made his death public, the exchange's furious users have raised questions. A Canadian bank froze another $21 million of funds. Ernst & Young was able to recover $24m in cash and $9m in assets held by Robertson. [3][4][5], Quadriga likely never invested the funds entrusted to it, according to Chainalysis, a cryptocurrency tracking firm. The company raised C$850,000 but cancelled plans to list on the exchange in early 2016. But Cotten was a bad trader: losing money hand over fist, he gambled away about $150 million of customer funds. Here's my take on Gerald Cotten and his suspicious death. Finally, the OSC discovered something that cracked the case wide open. Everyone knows the story about the now-defunct QuadrigaCX . "So far, nothing's been found. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Gerald Cotten, who was born on May 11th, 1988, was raised in Belleville, Ontario, before relocating to Toronto to enroll at York University's Schulich School of Business. I didnt know that Gerry was married, he says. 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. The Globe and Mail reporters were on the case, and used photos to conclude that they were the same person. I personally believe that Cotten is not dead but I would like to hear from people who know more than me about this topic and what they think about the situation. pic.twitter.com/rGymJ5f9Or. 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. 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 was one of the only games in town [for crypto enthusiasts], Sheona McDonald, who directed the film, told The New York Post. All that money vanished into the crypto ether and only once investigations occured did people start to think that it may have been a scam all along. [52], The CBC released a 6-episode podcast about Quadriga and the death of its founder called A Death in Cryptoland. "It did become an obsession.. Here's a link to the BlackHat forum. Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness (Holt). He launched QuadrigaCX in 2013, and it quickly became one of the largest crypto exchanges. Where was the rest of the money? However, in 2018, Bitcoin prices crashed and many began withdrawing their funds from Quadriga, except they were being met with error messages before the exchanges website stopped working in 2019. "You appear dead for a few days, until you get the cure," the source said. Is Gerald Cotten really dead? 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. [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. It essentially removes the need for a central authority. It was a perfect match, sparked up on Tinder, she said in the documentary. The thing is, a CEOs death shouldnt lock customers out of their money. 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? Zou trusted Quadriga CX, Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange, with C$500,000 (305,000). 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. [7][8], Quadriga co-founder Michael Patryn was identified by The Globe and Mail as Omar Dhanani, who was convicted on identity theft charges in the U.S. and served 18 months in Federal prison. 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.. "[18], The company tried to raise money and list on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) working with Patryn. 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. Rather than pay customers via bank wires, they were told to come to a nondescript building in Laval, Quebec to pick up the cash. But even the forensic accountants only managed to trace $46 million of the total $215 million customers had deposited onto the exchange. Reported by Fansided, Globe and Mail journalist Nathan Vanderklippe spoke to Dr. Sharma, who dealt with Cotten when he came into the hospital. 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. "[40][41], Ernst & Young found five Quadriga cold wallet addresses, but they were empty, containing no cryptocurrency since April 2018. A new Netflix true-crime documentary is tackling a bizarre story from the world of cryptocurrency. The user said that he left the company in 2016, and that the company was legitimate at the time. Gerald and Jennifer kept most of their relationship away from the public. [11] Lawyers for the customers of the exchange have asked that Cotten's body be exhumed.[12]. His wife Jennifer Robertson said he had promised to create a mechanism that turned thepasswords over to her when he died. 29 2022, Published 3:03 p.m. 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. Then the Ontario Securities Commission opened an investigation. [7] Meanwhile, in order to manage the finances of the company during the process, a third-party monitor, Ernst & Young, was appointed. After some more digging, the reporter found an order form filled out by one Gerald Cotten. In other news, Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 4 to release Fall 2023, confirms new trailer, Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King | Official Trailer | Netflix, https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vW2BPQ15OSw/hqdefault.jpg. Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. All Filters. Gerald Cleophas Betzen, 68. 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. [33] Aaron Matthews served as Director of Operations. "I kept asking them: Where's my money? 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 laptop computer from which Gerry carried out the companies business is encrypted and I do not know the password or recovery key. Then, the crypto millionaire suddenly died in India from complications from Crohn's disease about three years ago. [38][39], According to some of Cotten's family members, there was a crypto "Dead man's switch" that would provide Quadriga with operating information in the event of his death; however, "neither the monitor nor others involved with the organization are aware of a dead-man switch email having been received. started to be convinced that he was dead, after all. 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. Gerald Cotten. Things began to sour, however, in 2018, when the price of Bitcoin collapsed. [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. [45], In June 2020, the Ontario Securities Commission officially concluded that Quadriga was indeed a fraud and a Ponzi scheme. The OSC. The podcast was reported by Aaron Lammer and Lane Brown.[55]. The circumstances sparked speculation from some in the crypto community that the CEO faked his death and stole his clients' money. Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten died in 2018, taking password to access funds with him Credit: Netflix. "It just makes me more depressed about it," Zou told Sky News. Gerald Cotten. thinks that Gerald is deadnor did he ever meet his wife. 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. Lived In Los Angeles CA, Austin TX, Van Nuys CA . Then Gerald Cotten suddenly died, in December of 2018, from complications with Crohn's disease. 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. He passed away in 2018 with the secret of $250 million. The thing about conspiracy theories, though, is that they mutate out of control very quickly, and arent always reflective of the latest evidence. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? #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/ When Quadriga CEO Gerald Cotten died suddenly in 2018, the passcodes for his cryptocurrency exchange died with him. And, wildly, was Jennifer, his wife, even real? Did he Die? A C$100,000 trust fund was made to provide lifelong care for Cotten's two chihuahuas in case of Robertson's death. I ended up losing my life savings I lost $400,000, Tong Zou, a tech worker quoted in the film, says. Its the swindler story you havent heard of until now. Netflixs latest true crime documentary, Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, has arrived on the streaming platforms extensive catalog of intriguing documentaries. However, it was eventually discovered that Gerald had transferred all of his belongings to his wife before his death. [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. Retrieved 18 January 2022. But months later, customers still couldnt take their money out. 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. [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. Gerald Cotten was the talk of the cryptocurrency world in Canada after he introduced QuadrigaCX, a place where investors could buy and sell cryptocurrency. For instance, had Cottens death certificate, which spelled his name as Cott, , been faked? The circumstances are dodgy that they chose to honeymoon to India and he suddenly dies from complications of Crohn's disease. It left Robertson the entire C$9.6-million estate and named her as the trustee. 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. I'm new to this subreddit, I apologise if anything I have said breaks the rules. [49], On 5 March 2019, Justice Wood extended Quadriga's court protection to 23 April. I didnt know that Gerry was married, he says. The tech whiz however didn't even need to do it - being an early believer in crypto, he likely would have got rich without the need to scam people. Either the funds were never received or quickly went missing. His body was repatriated to Canada and a funeral was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It certainly started to look like fraud, said one anonymous investor in the doc. He appointed Peter Wedlake of Grant Thornton to be chief restructuring officer. , initially diagnosed Cotten with little more than travelers diahrrea, but kept him in hospital just in case. His body was embalmed and sent back to Canada for a closed-casket funeral. 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. 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. The user said that he left the company in 2016, and that the company was legitimate at the time. 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. March 30, 2022. A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents. CIBC stated that they could not determine the ownership of the money and could not contact Cotten or Quadriga. firms", "What happens when your bitcoin banker dies? A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents. [2], In January 2019 Ernst & Young reported that Quadriga did not have a bank account, but instead used third-party payment processors. 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. https://bit.ly/3cAIH4j Newest Vid's https:. But even the forensic accountants only managed to trace $46 million of the total $215 million customers had deposited onto the exchange. Fourteen trading accounts that were also examined were used to trade on other exchanges. Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. [17] In June 2017, Quadriga announced that they had lost ethereum worth US$14 million due to a smart contract error. Cbc.ca. TRUST NO ONE: THE HUNT FOR THE CRYPTO KINGFollow a group of investors turned sleuths as they try to unlock the suspicious death of cryptocurrency multimillionaire Gerry Cotten and the missing $250 million they believe he stole from them. 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. Robertsons sister, for the record, doesnt think that Cotten had fabricated his relationship with Jennifer. 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. Quadriga's accounts are estimated to have held 190million ($250million). It just wasnt there. goes to Cottens hospital in India to put the whole fake death thing to bed. Some 76,000 investors like Zou collectively lost out. 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. 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 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. 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. His death left investors locked out of their money and left Jennifer Robertson, Gerry's wife . Netflix announced an upcoming documentary about the Quadriga Bitcoin saga and the death of CEO Gerald Cotten. Either this is a 1 in 100 million coincidence or he is still alive. Gerald Cotten was the founder of one of Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Quadriga CX. Sign up for notifications from Insider! CRYPTO scams are popping up all over the internet. [19], Some Reddit users have suggested that Cotten faked his own death in order to defraud customers through an exit scam, while others believe that Cotten's death exposed a Ponzi scheme. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. X-rays. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops delivered daily to your inbox. [1], The company's CEO and founder, Gerald William Cotten, allegedly died in 2018 after traveling to India. (India is notorious for forging fake death certificates by paying people off). The crypto entrepreneur bought increasingly lavish purchases: a $600,000 yacht, a high-end Lexus, 17 homes in Canada, a plane. His death certificate was issued by the Indian authorities and contains an incorrect spelling of his name. Cotten told a Globe and Mail reporter that the banks, which didnt trust crypto exchanges, had frozen the exchanges bank accounts. My sisters not a liar.. [9][10], The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were reportedly investigating the company. You get rid of a lot of the regulations, he said on a podcast in 2014. reporters had a hunch that this was Gerry Cotten, and traced the account to another online den of thieves, BlackHatWorld. Have something to tell us about this article? 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. Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere, she said in court filings. 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. There's also other posts on his Murdoch1337 account that are weird he asks for people to sell him old reddit accounts presumably because he would use these alt accounts to downvote people trying to slander his company or he would make posts on these alts saying how great Quadriga is. Then the Ontario Securities Commission opened an investigation. Zou resorted to the cryptocurrency scheme to avoid bank charges when moving Vancouver, shifting his money from the US to a Canadian account. Gerald Cotten is allegedly meant to have died from Crohns disease after the exchange crashed. [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. [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. Their online exchange launched after the first month. 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. I put myself into a deep hole and the only way to dig out of it was to sell my house.. Its pretty much money by people for people.. We just send money from our Bitcoin app directly to those paper wallets, and keep it safe that way. The business was run from Cotten's encrypted laptop from Cotten's home in Fall River, Nova Scotia. And meanwhile, Dead Man's Switch director Sheona McDonald said: "There's only two people who really know what happened in India.". TRUST NO ONE: THE HUNT FOR THE CRYPTO KING, a DONT F*CK WITH CATS-style investigative thriller, is now streaming on Netflix. 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. [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. Cotten was young, energetic, passionate about cryptocurrency so when. Gerald died while on a honeymoon with his wife Je 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. [33], Cotten's will was signed 27 November 2018, twelve days before he allegedly died. Both Canadas tax authorities and the FBI are also investigating the company. The 33-year-old has attempted to get his money back in a lawsuit, but hasn't had any luck as yet. His body was repatriated to . The company's CEO and founder, Gerald William Cotten, allegedly died in 2018 after traveling to India. Robertson has denied any knowledge of her husband's wrongdoing - and in 2019 returned $9million to the company to repay users. And, wildly, was Jennifer, his wife, even. He died just nine days into his honeymoon due to an acute stomach ache. Gerald Cotten (born 11 May 1988)[14] lived in Belleville, Ontario before attending the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. Robertson has not been accused of any wrongdoing - and has denied any knowledge of her husband's business dealings. And why did the Indian hospital that treated Cotten misspell his name on his death certificate? A computer issue wiped $14 million of Ethereum off the exchange. And not even he thinks that Gerald is deadnor did he ever meet his wife. Dying from Crohn's disease when only 1.6% of sufferers from this disease die of it and to happen to die from . Neither Costodian or Quadriga could access the funds. 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. 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. Netflix announced an upcoming documentary about the Quadriga Bitcoin saga and the death of CEO Gerald Cotten. [17][20], In 2017, Bitcoin experienced a speculative frenzy rising in price from about US$1,000 to almost US$20,000. 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. [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. Indeed, QuadrigaCX launched just three months after sceptre put out a call to build a crypto exchange. At this point, lots of investors think that Cotten, a man alleged to have a history of scamming, really had faked his own death. When he was a 15-year-old in Belleville, Ont., Gerald Cotten was selling get-rich-quick schemes on online forums that taught him how to deceive investors and cover his tracks. One of the Globe reporters had a hunch that this was Gerry Cotten, and traced the account to another online den of thieves, BlackHatWorld. [16] In 2014 only C$7.4 million worth of bitcoin were exchanged on Quadriga. Netflix has seen a boom with its true-crime docuseries, from 'Tiger King' to 'Making a Murderer.'