His wife Jennifer Robertson said he had promised to create a mechanism that turned thepasswords over to her when he died. 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". Its pretty much money by people for people.. "So far, nothing's been found. Supposedly, Cottens business associates didnt even know he was married. [16] In 2014 only C$7.4 million worth of bitcoin were exchanged on Quadriga. I didnt know that Gerry was married, he says. Sign up for notifications from Insider! By Robin Hill-Gray. 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. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? But the money, of course, was still missing. It is highly unusual for only a single executive to be the one with access to a company's fund, further muddying the waters around what happened to Cotten. Gerald Cotten Still Alive ? Its the swindler story you havent heard of until now. "At that time, there was nothing I could do. Uncertainty about the missing funds has fueled speculation that Cotten may still be alive. A Canadian bank froze another $21 million of funds. [48], On 5 February 2019, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Michael J. 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. 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. Some also believe that Gerald isnt even dead at all but rather hiding away with the hundreds of millions of dollars he controlled. [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. Was Patryn, whom employees described as a macho, terrifying character, calling the shots, not Cotten? The company raised C$850,000 but cancelled plans to list on the exchange in early 2016. I took out three loans from the bank and put it all into crypto. Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness (Holt). So the. It was one of the only games in town [for crypto enthusiasts], Sheona McDonald, who directed the film, told The New York Post. that after 2016, QuadrigaCX stopped producing consistent data about its holdings, and that large volumes of cryptocurrencies were being sent to foreign crypto exchanges. The laptop computer from which Gerry carried out the companies business is encrypted and I do not know the password or recovery key. 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. Gerald Cotten is a bitcoin millionaire from Canada whose death, supposedly from complications relating to Crohn's disease, is now being questioned. He died just nine days into his honeymoon due to an acute stomach ache. [51], A documentary titled Dead Man's Switch: A Crypto Mystery about the story of Gerald Cotten premiered at the 2021 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. Angry and suspicious investors congregated on Reddit and Telegram to try to get to the bottom of the mystery. His death sparked online debates and string theories on Reddit and. , one of the co-founders, registered the domain name for QuadrigaCXnot Gerry. It apparently had no formal accounting system. Finally, the OSC discovered something that cracked the case wide open. "It just makes me more depressed about it," Zou told Sky News. I just prayed. And not even. 29 2022, Published 3:03 p.m. A new Netflix true-crime documentary is tackling a bizarre story from the world of cryptocurrency. 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. Further complicating the matter the company's co-founder Michael Patryn was revealed to actually be a man named Omar Dhanani, who had previously been convicted in the US of identity fraud. 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.. A computer issue wiped $14 million of Ethereum off the exchange. [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. 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. Mr Cotten, 30 at the time of his death, seemed to be living the dream life of a financial titan. I'm new to this subreddit, I apologise if anything I have said breaks the rules. seeks to unravel the mystery of Gerald Cotten, the CEO of crypto exchange QuadrigaCX, who died in 2018. Reported by Fansided, Globe and Mail journalist Nathan Vanderklippe spoke to Dr. Sharma, who dealt with Cotten when he came into the hospital. There was no autopsy on the body, for instance, and Cotten had signed his will two weeks after he diedleaving his riches to Jennifer. Cryptocurrency investors locked out of $190m after exchange founder dies, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. One of the Globe reporters had a hunch that this was Gerry Cotten, and traced the account to another online den of thieves, BlackHatWorld. "I kept asking them: Where's my money? Gerald Cotten. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Zou trusted Quadriga CX, Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange, with C$500,000 (305,000). Front Burner- Inside Canada's Crypto Mystery, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, "Investigation of Quadriga cryptocurrency debacle turns up only $28 million in assets", "Nothing sinister about bitcoin company CEO's sudden death, friend says", "Troubled Bitcoin trader QuadrigaCX takes another bizarre turn", "Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange Quadriga seeks creditor protection", "Bitcoin Accounts for 95% of Cryptocurrency Crime, Says Analyst", "Crypto-Exchange Says It Can't Pay Investors Because Its C.E.O. 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. 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. "[18], The company tried to raise money and list on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) working with Patryn. Was he avoiding something or someone? The estate includes an airplane, a sailboat, a 2017 Lexus, and real estate in Nova Scotia and Kelowna, British Columbia. 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. 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. [50], Quadriga's lawyer, the firm Stewart McKelvey, withdrew from the case due to a potential conflict of interest. Their online exchange launched after the first month. 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. [7] Meanwhile, in order to manage the finances of the company during the process, a third-party monitor, Ernst & Young, was appointed. His death left investors locked out of their money and left Jennifer Robertson, Gerry's wife . 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. The streaming service announced the feature alongside a slate of upcoming true-crime projects last week. https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/hiring-a-programmer-website-like-bitstamp-bitcoin-trading-project.605236/. Someone tracked Patryn to a scam forum called TalkGold, where Patryn talked to one user in particular, sceptre, a bunch. 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. Someone tracked Patryn to a scam forum called TalkGold, where Patryn talked to one user in particular, sceptre, a bunch. His body was repatriated to Canada and a funeral was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Gerald died while on a honeymoon with his wife Je The podcast was hosted by Takara Small. [30], According to Jennifer Robertson, Cotten's widow, he died on 9 December 2018 while travelling 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. Gerald Cotten. 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. But Bitcoin crashed at the end of 2018, and Cottens flashy lifestyle needed cash to sustain itself. 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. Was a recently-active Skype account proof he was still alive? Citing decomposition concerns, lawyers requested the exhumation be completed no later than spring 2020. Still, questions about the missing money only mounted when two Globe and Mail reporters followed up on the case. March 30, 2022. 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." The media dragged Gerald Cotten's wife, Jennifer Robertson, into the spotlight after his mysterious death. Resides in Beverly Hills, CA. Image Source: Social Media. "Once I deposited it, it was basically gone.". Investigations into the firm revealed that Mr Cotten made numerous fake accounts on Quadriga to influence trades on the platform, at one time being involved personally in 87 per cent of transactions. Exit Scam host Aaron Lammer told CoinDesk: "My read was that, on some level, Gerry was addicted to scamming, "Addicted to stealing peoples money. [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. CIBC stated that they could not determine the ownership of the money and could not contact Cotten or Quadriga. Supposedly, Cottens business associates didnt even know he was married. 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. While Robertson has possession of the laptop containing the necessary passwords, she remains locked out. 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. reporters had a hunch that this was Gerry Cotten, and traced the account to another online den of thieves, BlackHatWorld. Mar. G erald Cotten was 15 when he ran his first documented get-rich-quick scheme. 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. 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. A C$24.7 million disbursement fund has been planned with C$300,000 to go to Cotten's widow, Jennifer Robertson, who advanced that amount to start the court proceedings; C$200,000 will go to Ernst & Young and another C$250,000 to its lawyers; C$229,842 will go to Quadriga's lawyers; and C$17,000 to independent contractors. Everyone knows the story about the now-defunct QuadrigaCX . He was 30-years-old at the time of his death. About C$1.2 billion worth of bitcoin was exchanged on Quadriga. Thinking that Jennifer had murdered Cotten, the Telegram group spiraled out of control. Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. 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. started to be convinced that he was dead, after all. She says she never received the passwords. Cotten's sudden death in 2018 led to the disappearance of millions of dollars. Gerald Cotten (born 11 May 1988)[14] lived in Belleville, Ontario before attending the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. You transferred them $1,000 and you could see the crypto in your account. Lived In Los Angeles CA, Austin TX, Van Nuys CA . [17][29] Bloomberg also identified Patryn as Dhanani, showing that he had officially changed his name from Omar Dhanani to Omar Patryn in British Columbia in March 2003 and changed it again to Michael Patryn in October 2008. For instance, had Cottens death certificate, which spelled his name as Cottan, been faked? [15] He learned about Bitcoin in Toronto and travelled to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he founded Quadriga in November 2013 with Michael Patryn. 4 people named Gerald Betzen found in California, Texas and Massachusetts. 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. Quadriga's customers are owed C$260 million in cryptocurrency and cash. 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. In that case, $851 million entrusted to Crypto Capital had been "lost, stolen or absconded with", according to the suit. The crypto entrepreneur bought increasingly lavish purchases: a $600,000 yacht, a high-end Lexus, 17 homes in Canada, a plane. His body was repatriated to . In December 2018, Cotten died during his honeymoon with his wife, Jennifer Robertson, in Jaipur, India. A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents. But even the forensic accountants only managed to trace $46 million of the total $215 million customers had deposited onto the exchange. 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. The podcast was reported by Aaron Lammer and Lane Brown.[55]. #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/ His death certificate was issued by the Indian authorities and contains an incorrect spelling of his name. - Watch Full Details ! 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". 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. The OSC. Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten | FAKE Behind 'Hunt For The Crypto King' Netflix | Where Are They Now?Subscribe Here! Though some dont believe Mr Cotten is really gone, the money from Quadriga is. 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. An official investigation concluded that Quadriga was"an old-fashioned fraud wrapped in modern technology". ^ "Quadriga CEO's widow speaks out over his death and the missing crypto millions". Both Canadas tax authorities and the FBI are also investigating the company. Overcast with rain showers at times. And meanwhile, Dead Man's Switch director Sheona McDonald said: "There's only two people who really know what happened in India.". 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. At the time, he was the CEO of QuadrigaCX, a company that performed cryptocurrency exchanges. We explain who Gerald Cotten is, the subject of this documentary, and reveal where he is now, including the mystery surrounding his downfall. 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 first encountered Bitcoin in Vancouver, British . 5 There was no way of getting my money back. 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. [52], The CBC released a 6-episode podcast about Quadriga and the death of its founder called A Death in Cryptoland. I could have put it in stocks. 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. [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. Still, all this evidence was circumstantialinvestors hadnt yet found a smoking gun. thinks that Gerald is deadnor did he ever meet his wife. Rather than pay customers via bank wires, they were told to come to a nondescript building in Laval, Quebec to pick up the cash. Was, whom employees described as a macho, terrifying character, that Patryn was involved in a money-laundering ring under a different name, Then, out of the blue, one Mike Patryn joined the Telegram group that investors were using to discuss conspiracies. He appointed his wife as the executor of his estate, handing over a $9million real estate empire, his yacht and his Cessna plane - and he even left his two dogs an inheritance of $100,000. (India is notorious for forging fake death certificates by paying people off). Gerald Cleophas Betzen, 68. 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. Things began to sour, however, in 2018, when the price of Bitcoin collapsed. "You appear dead for a few days, until you get the cure," the source said. 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. 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. Is Gerald Cotten really dead? But when co-founder Cotten died during a honeymoon in India, the money was seemingly lost forever. 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". 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. Customers have since struggled to regain access to their money, citing withdrawl issues and lack of communication from the company. I put myself into a deep hole and the only way to dig out of it was to sell my house.. 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. NOW WATCH: Netflix is headed for a huge profit milestone in 2018, Personal Finance Insider's picks for best cryptocurrency exchanges. Thats when the. 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. Quadriga CX was left owning its 76,000 investors around $215million (CAD). Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 4 to release Fall 2023, confirms new trailer, {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. 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. [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. 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. 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. at the time Canadas largest cryptocurrency exchange, Gerald Cotten, 30, died in questionable circumstances, Canadian company founder took crucial password to the grave. It was a perfect match, sparked up on Tinder, she said in the documentary. The investors found more questions than answers. Then, out of the blue, one Mike Patryn joined the Telegram group that investors were using to discuss conspiracies. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King. Where was the rest of the money? [47], Gerald Cotten's widow has maintained that she knew nothing about her husband's activities and agreed to forfeit $12 million in assets. Here Is Why People Think Gerald Cotten Is Still Alive. [42] Another three empty wallets were believed to possibly be owned by Quadriga. "[40][41], Ernst & Young found five Quadriga cold wallet addresses, but they were empty, containing no cryptocurrency since April 2018. Was a recently-active Skype account proof he was still alive? All Filters. Gerald Cotten had an estimated net worth of $80 million at the time of his death. Robertsons sister, for the record, doesnt think that Cotten had fabricated his relationship with Jennifer. Then, as their accounts accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars, Gerald passed unexpectedly, taking the passwords to the accounts to his grave. And for some, things still looked suspicious. Conspiracy theorists insist that Cotten faked his own death, however, as many irregularities surrounding his death began to circulate, including a copy of his misspelled death certificate and the fact that his funeral had a closed casket. So far, only about $46 million has been recovered. It sucks.". name was not the same as Robertsons ex-husband, some angry investors lobbed death threats at Jennifer, convinced that she had murdered Cotten, too. Zou trusted Quadriga CX, Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange, with C$500,000 (305,000). 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. 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. Shortly after, the exchange stopped working entirely. 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. 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. 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. A C$100,000 trust fund was made to provide lifelong care for Cotten's two chihuahuas in case of Robertson's death. [17][20], In 2017, Bitcoin experienced a speculative frenzy rising in price from about US$1,000 to almost US$20,000. Many believe that Cotten faked his death, however, as part of an exit scam to get away with stealing millions from Quadrigas customers. He passed away in 2018 with the secret of $250 million. In November 2018 the case was decided with the accounts going to the court to decide the ownership individually. 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. Netflix Special on Bitcoin Fraudster Gerald Cotten, His Wife, and QuadrigaCX. The business was run from Cotten's encrypted laptop from Cotten's home in Fall River, Nova Scotia. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider The user said that he left the company in 2016, and that the company was legitimate at the time.