Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten died in 2018, taking password to access funds with him Credit: Netflix. 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. Some 76,000 investors like Zou collectively lost out. How did Gerald Cotten die? A Quadriga mystery, from India to Canada and 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. "I kept asking them: Where's my money? 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". The thing is, a CEOs death shouldnt lock customers out of their money. [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. 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,. 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. Gerald Cleophas Betzen, 68. The accounting firm Ernst & Young, tasked with auditing the company as it undergoes bankruptcy proceedings, discovered numerous money-losing trades executed by Cotten, using customers funds. Cotten's sudden death in 2018 led to the disappearance of millions of dollars. [52], The CBC released a 6-episode podcast about Quadriga and the death of its founder called A Death in Cryptoland. I just prayed. NOW WATCH: Netflix is headed for a huge profit milestone in 2018, Personal Finance Insider's picks for best cryptocurrency exchanges. 4 people named Gerald Betzen found in California, Texas and Massachusetts. There's only two people who really know what happened in India. firms", "What happens when your bitcoin banker dies? Investors who lost $190m demand exhumation of cryptocurrency mogul Investors who believed that Cotten had faked his own death and ran away with the money had made one huge assumption: that Cotten had money to steal. Something was afoot. The estate includes an airplane, a sailboat, a 2017 Lexus, and real estate in Nova Scotia and Kelowna, British Columbia. The Secret Life and Strange Death of Quadriga Founder Gerald Cotten 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. G erald Cotten was 15 when he ran his first documented get-rich-quick scheme. There was no way of getting my money back. Supposedly, Cottens business associates didnt even know he was married. [24][25][26], According to court filings, Quadriga also used WB21 as a payment processor. Robertsons sister, for the record, doesnt think that Cotten had fabricated his relationship with Jennifer. The doctor stated that while dying from Crohns disease is very rare, Cotten appeared to show signs of illness and suffered from three heart attacks in the same day the paramedics were unable to resuscitate him after his third cardiac arrest. [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. 'Bitcoin widow' reveals how she fell victim to her own husband's $215m Some have speculated his death was a clever ruse and there have been calls to have his body exhumed to prove it was a "fake". The user said that he left the company in 2016, and that the company was legitimate at the time. 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. [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. Where was the rest of the money? 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. pic.twitter.com/rGymJ5f9Or. She had accompanied him to a hospital in Jaipur the previous day and he was diagnosed with septic shock, perforation, peritonitis, and intestinal obstruction. Is Gerald Cotten really dead? : r/QuadrigaCX - reddit Netflix Special on Bitcoin Fraudster Gerald Cotten, His Wife, and QuadrigaCX. They surfed his social media accounts at first, then traced Cottens digital footprints even more closely for clues. 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. A bitcoin mining operation in Saint Hyacinthe, Quebec. In December 2018, Cotten died during his honeymoon with his wife, Jennifer Robertson, in Jaipur, India. 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. I'm 99% sure he is still alive living nicely. 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. 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. 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. There was no autopsy on the body, for instance, and Cotten had signed his will two weeks after he diedleaving his riches to Jennifer. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider [19] Other than a few contractors, it had no employees, offices or bank accounts thereafter. did gerry and his wife fake his passing and steal the money? Then, the crypto millionaire suddenly died in India from complications from Crohn's disease about three years ago. But when co-founder Cotten died during a honeymoon in India, the money was seemingly lost forever. 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. Many believe that Cotten faked his death, however, as part of an exit scam to get away with stealing millions from Quadrigas customers. Quadriga's customers are owed C$260 million in cryptocurrency and cash. Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. Netflixs documentary definitely seems to be in the corner that Cotten did die, despite the mystery surrounding his death. His wife Jennifer Robertson said he had promised to create a mechanism that turned thepasswords over to her when he died. Forensic accountants discovered that Gerry was trading against fake users, crediting their account with fake currencies and pocketing the cash, using the proceeds to play the crypto market. Customers reported that once they arrived, there was nobody in the office, or that there was no cash to be disbursed. Mar. According to an investigation by Canada's Globe and Mail, Cotten. as well as other partner offers and accept our. The couple were on their honeymoon in India, where Jennifer had dreams of opening an orphanage. Gerald Cotten's body should be exhumed, investors in QuadrigaCX tell We explain who Gerald Cotten is, the subject of this documentary, and reveal where he is now, including the mystery surrounding his downfall. So his spiral down into a life of crime was either pure greed or him seeking the thrill. [16] In 2014 only C$7.4 million worth of bitcoin were exchanged on Quadriga. 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. Gerald Cotten was 15 when he ran his first documented get-rich-quick scheme. The teen, a bright computer enthusiast from Belleville, Ontario, ran the operation on an online forum called TalkGold . Still, questions about the missing money only mounted when two. thinks that Gerald is deadnor did he ever meet his wife. Gerald Cotten. You get rid of a lot of the regulations, he said on a podcast in 2014. Still, all this evidence was circumstantialinvestors hadnt yet found a smoking gun. Some also believe that Gerald isnt even dead at all but rather hiding away with the hundreds of millions of dollars he controlled. His will was signed off just two weeks before he and wife Jennifer Robertson travelled to India on their honeymoon. 'Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King' will be released sometime in 2022. Companies have backups, safeguards to protect against this kind of thing. Angry and suspicious investors congregated on Reddit and Telegram to try to get to the bottom of the mystery. 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. 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. 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. Fourteen trading accounts that were also examined were used to trade on other exchanges. 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. "Once I deposited it, it was basically gone.". started to be convinced that he was dead, after all. Mr Patryn pled guilty in 2005 to working in an identity fraud ring, and did business under a company called Midas Gold as an intermediary with Liberty Reserve, a Costa Rican digital currency firm busted as one of the largest money laundering operations in history. I didnt know that Gerry was married, he says. reporters had a hunch that this was Gerry Cotten, and traced the account to another online den of thieves, BlackHatWorld. Gerald Cotten is allegedly meant to have died from Crohns disease after the exchange crashed. ", 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. In that case, $851 million entrusted to Crypto Capital had been "lost, stolen or absconded with", according to the suit. 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. Both Canadas tax authorities and the FBI are also investigating the company. Crypto CEO's Mysterious Death Will Be Made Into Netflix Doc She says she never received the passwords. The streaming service announced the feature alongside a slate of upcoming true-crime projects last week. Gerald and Jennifer kept most of their relationship away from the public. Gerald Cotten is still alive (proof) : r/QuadrigaCX - Reddit Everyone knows the story about the now-defunct QuadrigaCX . It was one of the only games in town [for crypto enthusiasts], Sheona McDonald, who directed the film, told The New York Post. A lost password, a sudden death and $180M in missing crypto Either the funds were never received or quickly went missing. [49], On 5 March 2019, Justice Wood extended Quadriga's court protection to 23 April. But, due to the strict security of crypto, we may never know. He died just nine days into his honeymoon due to an acute stomach ache. My sisters not a liar.. The shocking story has been recounted in a new Netflix documentary, Trust No One: The Hunt For The Crypto King. Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere, she said in court filings. Cotten was the only one with access to necessary permissions. How Gerald Cotten, the "Crypto King," Really Died - Bustle 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.