Something was afoot. Premieres in 2022 pic.twitter.com/rP9iFJHkWm. Re-thinking indemnification for smart contract risks", "Bitcoin investors face long delays cashing out, criticize two B.C. There was no autopsy on the body, for instance, and Cotten had signed his will two weeks after he diedleaving his riches to Jennifer. 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. Cotten's sudden death in 2018 led to the disappearance of millions of dollars. 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. 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.. 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". This was my entire savings, built through ten years of work, said one disgruntled customer in the doc. And why did the Indian hospital that treated Cotten misspell his name on his death certificate? 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. The thing about conspiracy theories, though, is that they mutate out of control very quickly, and arent always reflective of the latest evidence. [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. And with the mystery of Quadriga still being unraveled by the Feds, Mounties, amateur sleuths and investigative journalists - the question remains what happened to Cotten? "At that time, there was nothing I could do. 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. ", 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. Shortly after, the exchange stopped working entirely. Quadriga's customers are owed C$260 million in cryptocurrency and cash. 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. The couple were on their honeymoon in India, where Jennifer had dreams of opening an orphanage. You transferred them $1,000 and you could see the crypto in your account. thinks that Gerald is deadnor did he ever meet his wife. Here's my take on Gerald Cotten and his suspicious death. 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. In January 2014 they installed the second Bitcoin ATM in Vancouver. Gerald Cotten is a bitcoin millionaire from Canada whose death, supposedly from complications relating to Crohn's disease, is now being questioned. 'Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King' will be released sometime in 2022. The only catch: only Gerry knew the passwords to the companys crypto-vaults. Like other crypto-exchanges, Quadriga kept its funds in so-called cold wallets, digital storage devices not connected to the internet, which are safe from hacking. [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. Where was the rest of the money? A lost password, a sudden death and $180M in missing crypto The media dragged Gerald Cotten's wife, Jennifer Robertson, into the spotlight after his mysterious death. The podcast was hosted by Takara Small. The estate includes an airplane, a sailboat, a 2017 Lexus, and real estate in Nova Scotia and Kelowna, British Columbia. Check out: Personal Finance Insider's picks for best cryptocurrency exchanges. 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. Gerald Cotten (born 11 May 1988)[14] lived in Belleville, Ontario before attending the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. But even the forensic accountants only managed to trace $46 million of the total $215 million customers had deposited onto the exchange. 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. 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". Some speculate that Cotten, who suffered with Crohn's disease, might actually be alive. X-rays. Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten | FAKE Behind 'Hunt For The Crypto King' Netflix I really prayed it wasn't a scam. So what exactly happened to Cotten, and is he still alive somewhere sitting on a mountain of stolen crypto? 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. Netflix has seen a boom with its true-crime docuseries, from 'Tiger King' to 'Making a Murderer.' Lawyers representing investors in what BBC. 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. Then Gerald Cotten suddenly died, in December of 2018, from complications with Crohn's disease. 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. [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. The circumstances are dodgy that they chose to honeymoon to India and he suddenly dies from complications of Crohn's disease. QuadrigaCX's Crypto Accounts Were Emptied Months Before CEO's Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere, she said in court filings. Many believe that Cotten faked his death, however, as part of an exit scam to get away with stealing millions from Quadrigas customers. (His wife says he is in fact dead and witnessed his funeral). It stated that Gerald Cotten committed fraud by opening accounts under aliases and crediting himself with fictitious currency and crypto asset balances, which he traded with unsuspecting clients and that "What happened at Quadriga was an old-fashioned fraud wrapped in modern technology. , one of the co-founders, registered the domain name for QuadrigaCXnot Gerry. 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. 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. A new Netflix true-crime documentary is tackling a bizarre story from the world of cryptocurrency. But months later, customers still couldnt take their money out. 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. 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. But pour in it did. Tong Zou is one of thousands of customers left seriously out of pocket following Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten's mysterious death in 2018 at the age of 30. The company's CEO and founder, Gerald William Cotten, allegedly died in 2018 after traveling to India. At this point, lots of investors think that Cotten, a man alleged to have a history of scamming, really had faked his own death. What Happened to Jennifer Robertson and Where Is Gerald Cotten's Wife Now? Here's a link to the BlackHat forum. 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. 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. CIBC stated that they could not determine the ownership of the money and could not contact Cotten or Quadriga. Lived In Los Angeles CA, Austin TX, Van Nuys CA . Cotten also took flying lessons as he appeared to be possibly preparing for a life on the run. After some more digging, the reporter found an order form filled out by one Gerald Cotten. Customers reported that once they arrived, there was nobody in the office, or that there was no cash to be disbursed. Some also believe that Gerald isnt even dead at all but rather hiding away with the hundreds of millions of dollars he controlled. [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. Cotten was the only one with access to necessary permissions. Jilted investors of Cotton's crypto firm QuadrigaCX have demanded his corpse be exhumed and tests run to confirm its his body. A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents. For instance, had Cottens death certificate, which spelled his name as Cottan, been faked? 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. #GeraldCottenReallyDead #GeraldCottenStillAliveGerald Cotten Really Dead ? 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. Zou resorted to the cryptocurrency scheme to avoid bank charges when moving Vancouver, shifting his money from the US to a Canadian account. [48], On 5 February 2019, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Gerald Cotten. Mar. I'm 99% sure he is still alive living nicely. His will was signed off just two weeks before he and wife Jennifer Robertson travelled to India on their honeymoon. Did he Die? I took out three loans from the bank and put it all into crypto. His death sparked online debates and string theories on Reddit and. 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". His body was repatriated to . Supposedly, Cottens business associates didnt even know he was married. G erald Cotten was 15 when he ran his first documented get-rich-quick scheme. It was one of the only games in town [for crypto enthusiasts], Sheona McDonald, who directed the film, told The New York Post. And meanwhile, Dead Man's Switch director Sheona McDonald said: "There's only two people who really know what happened in India.". Robertson has denied any knowledge of her husband's wrongdoing - and in 2019 returned $9million to the company to repay users. Netflix Special on Bitcoin Fraudster Gerald Cotten, His Wife, and QuadrigaCX. 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. Then, the crypto millionaire suddenly died in India from complications from Crohn's disease about three years ago. Netflix announced an upcoming documentary about the Quadriga Bitcoin saga and the death of CEO Gerald Cotten. 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. lets break it all down. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops delivered daily to your inbox. Gerald Cotten was the talk of the cryptocurrency world in Canada after he introduced QuadrigaCX, a place where investors could buy and sell cryptocurrency. The company raised C$850,000 but cancelled plans to list on the exchange in early 2016. ", "Vancouver crypto exchange, CIBC clash over frozen accounts", "Judge rules with CIBC, grants possession of disputed Quadriga funds to Ontario Superior Court", "The fintech 'genius' accused in $165m fraud", "Crypto Firm Cited in Bitfinex Case Had Also Worked With Quadriga", "Quadriga co-founder served time in U.S. for role in identity-theft ring, documents reveal", "Criminal Past Haunts Surviving Founder of Troubled Crypto Exchange", "Crypto firm CEO with $190 million password did die in Jaipur hospital", "Cryptocurrency Exchange Says It Can't Access $190 Million After CEO Unexpectedly Died", "Millions in cryptocurrencies frozen in Canada after only person who had password dies in India", "Crypto Exchange Founder Filed Will 12 Days Before He Died", "Quadriga CEO, whose death ignited a cryptocurrency storm, a kind man with taste for fine things, say friends", "Crypto Exchange Mystery Deepens as Board Seeks Court Protection", "Crypto exchange Quadriga files for creditor protection", "Quadriga mystery deepens with little evidence of cold wallets containing $250M", "A Crypto-Mystery: Is $136 Million Stuck or Missing? I ended up losing my life savings I lost $400,000, Tong Zou, a tech worker quoted in the film, says. Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? March 30, 2022. November 28, 2022 by Nurudeen. [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. 5 Its pretty much money by people for people.. Likewise, the public was not much intrigued about their lives up until . started to be convinced that he was dead, after all. And who dies from Crohns disease at 24 years old? 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. The Netflix documentary will follow investors-turned-investigators looking into theories on the founder's sudden death. Gerald Cotten is allegedly meant to have died from Crohns disease after the exchange crashed. It was a perfect match, sparked up on Tinder, she said in the documentary. Either this is a 1 in 100 million coincidence or he is still alive. 4 people named Gerald Betzen found in California, Texas and Massachusetts. But the money, of course, was still missing. Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. TRUST NO ONE: THE HUNT FOR THE CRYPTO KING, a DONT F*CK WITH CATS-style investigative thriller, is now streaming on Netflix. One of the Globe reporters had a hunch that this was Gerry Cotten, and traced the account to another online den of thieves, BlackHatWorld. We pay for your stories! One of the. 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. Thinking that Jennifer had murdered Cotten, the Telegram group spiraled out of control. A new documentary on his mysterious death called Dead Man's Switch: A Crypto Mystery, airing on Discovery+, looks into accusations the crypto king made off with millions in investors' cash. 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. When Canadian blockchain whiz Gerald Cotten died unexpectedly last year, hundreds of millions of dollars in investor funds vanished into the crypto ether. [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. "I kept asking them: Where's my money? The two first met in November 2014 and had been together for some time before tying the knot in October 2018. firms", "What happens when your bitcoin banker dies? Gerald Cotten was 15 when he ran his first documented get-rich-quick scheme. It certainly started to look like fraud, said one anonymous investor in the doc. Mr Cotten, 30 at the time of his death, seemed to be living the dream life of a financial titan. In November 2018 the case was decided with the accounts going to the court to decide the ownership individually. 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. - Watch Full Details ! Their online exchange launched after the first month. But even the forensic accountants only managed to trace $46 million of the total $215 million customers had deposited onto the exchange. So the. But when co-founder Cotten died during a honeymoon in India, the money was seemingly lost forever. Have something to tell us about this article? "[18], The company tried to raise money and list on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) working with Patryn. 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. No longer a likable nerd, investors thought that Gerald, now sceptre, had been operating scams since he was 15. 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. The streaming service announced the feature alongside a slate of upcoming true-crime projects last week. He convinced tons of investors to fork over their money so he could invest it into Crypto. A Canadian bank froze another $21 million of funds. 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. [11] Lawyers for the customers of the exchange have asked that Cotten's body be exhumed.[12]. 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. However, it was eventually discovered that Gerald had transferred all of his belongings to his wife before his death. The thing is, a CEOs death shouldnt lock customers out of their money. Where is Gerald Cotten now from Netflix's Hunt for the Crypto - HITC 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. What really happened to Gerald Cotten, Netflix's Crypto King? Still, all this evidence was circumstantialinvestors hadnt yet found a smoking gun. 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. Someone tracked Patryn to a scam forum called TalkGold, where Patryn talked to one user in particular, sceptre, a bunch. Robertson has not been accused of any wrongdoing - and has denied any knowledge of her husband's business dealings. 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.. Photo by Gaetano Cessati on Unsplash. 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. Its the swindler story you havent heard of until now. reporters had a hunch that this was Gerry Cotten, and traced the account to another online den of thieves, BlackHatWorld. 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. 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? "Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King". [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. Cotten told a Globe and Mail reporter that the banks, which didnt trust crypto exchanges, had frozen the exchanges bank accounts. Here Is Why People Think Gerald Cotten Is Still Alive. After some more digging, the reporter found an order form filled out by one Gerald Cotten. goes to Cottens hospital in India to put the whole fake death thing to bed. Supposedly, Cottens business associates didnt even know he was married. I could have put it in stocks. Gerald Cotten was the founder of one of Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Quadriga CX. 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. How did Gerald Cotten die? A Quadriga mystery, from India to Canada and [33], Cotten's will was signed 27 November 2018, twelve days before he allegedly died. Official investigations into the matter have yet to produce any definitive answers. [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. A sneak preview of the Netflix doc contains images that suggest the documentary will show the investors dive deeper into these conspiracies. 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. 29 2022, Published 3:03 p.m. Netflixs documentary definitely seems to be in the corner that Cotten did die, despite the mystery surrounding his death. Despite no concrete evidenceindeed, the murdered mans. [33] Aaron Matthews served as Director of Operations. 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. Gerald Cotten, 30, held the virtual keys to a whopping $137 . Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten died in 2018, taking password to access funds with him Credit: Netflix.
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