His body was repatriated to . He was 30-years-old at the time of his death. Was a recently-active Skype account proof he was still alive? 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. (India is notorious for forging fake death certificates by paying people off). Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere, she said in court filings. On the 9th, he allegedly died after episodes of cardiac arrest. Then you get rid of the fees. Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness (Holt). Some people called for Geralds body to be exhumed. The teen, a bright computer enthusiast from Belleville, Ontario, ran the operation on an online forum called TalkGold . When Canadian blockchain whiz Gerald Cotten died unexpectedly last year, hundreds of millions of dollars in investor funds vanished into the crypto ether. 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. It just wasnt there. Either the funds were never received or quickly went missing. Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten | FAKE Behind 'Hunt For The Crypto King' Netflix | Where Are They Now?Subscribe Here! Dhanani also had pleaded guilty to burglary and grand theft charges and had been deported to Canada. [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. So what exactly happened to Cotten, and is he still alive somewhere sitting on a mountain of stolen crypto? 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. 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 Netflix documentary will follow investors-turned-investigators looking into theories on the founder's sudden death. Mar. Gerald died while on a honeymoon with his wife Je seeks to unravel the mystery of Gerald Cotten, the CEO of crypto exchange QuadrigaCX, who died in 2018. He convinced tons of investors to fork over their money so he could invest it into Crypto. TRUST NO ONE: THE HUNT FOR THE CRYPTO KING, a DONT F*CK WITH CATS-style investigative thriller, is now streaming on Netflix. And for some, things still looked suspicious. A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents. I ended up losing my life savings I lost $400,000, Tong Zou, a tech worker quoted in the film, says. Did he Die? A computer issue wiped $14 million of Ethereum off the exchange. 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. He was 30-years-old. Gerald and Jennifer kept most of their relationship away from the public. Netflix announced an upcoming documentary about the Quadriga Bitcoin saga and the death of CEO Gerald Cotten. He launched QuadrigaCX in 2013, and it quickly became one of the largest crypto exchanges. There was no way of getting my money back. firms", "What happens when your bitcoin banker dies? Was a recently-active Skype account proof he was still alive? [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. [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. He passed away in 2018 with the secret of $250 million. The laptop computer from which Gerry carried out the companies business is encrypted and I do not know the password or recovery key. The shocking story has been recounted in a new Netflix documentary, Trust No One: The Hunt For The Crypto King. "Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King". [28], Quadriga used an unusual teller-window system for customers to withdraw their money. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King. 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. Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 4 to release Fall 2023, confirms new trailer, {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. 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. pic.twitter.com/rGymJ5f9Or. 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. Jilted investors of Cotton's crypto firm QuadrigaCX have demanded his corpse be exhumed and tests run to confirm its his body. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops delivered daily to your inbox. 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. did gerry and his wife fake his passing and steal the money? "You appear dead for a few days, until you get the cure," the source said. The couple were on their honeymoon in India, where Jennifer had dreams of opening an orphanage. lets break it all down. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Resides in Beverly Hills, CA. Like many in the industry, he framed his enterprise not merely as a financial tool, but a radical societal change, touting the crypto gospel in podcast appearances and videos on YouTube. 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.. [42], Quadriga continued to accept deposits until 26 January. 5 November 28, 2022 by Nurudeen. Quadriga's accounts are estimated to have held 190million ($250million). 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. Was Patryn, whom employees described as a macho, terrifying character, calling the shots, not Cotten? 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. The doctor, reported the Globe, initially diagnosed Cotten with little more than travelers diahrrea, but kept him in hospital just in case. Check out: Personal Finance Insider's picks for best cryptocurrency exchanges. His clients were locked out of about $250 million, and investigators later. The company raised C$850,000 but cancelled plans to list on the exchange in early 2016. 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." Start your Independent Premium subscription today. I really prayed it wasn't a scam. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The user said that he left the company in 2016, and that the company was legitimate at the time. [31], Robertson filed an affidavit on behalf of the company which included a "Statement of Death" for Cotten, filed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 12 December 2018. For instance, had Cottens death certificate, which spelled his name as Cott, , been faked? [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. About C$1.2 billion worth of bitcoin was exchanged on Quadriga. "It did become an obsession.. 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 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. (Neither men were charged in connection with Liberty Reserve). Thinking that Jennifer had murdered Cotten, the Telegram group spiraled out of control. Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten died in 2018, taking password to access funds with him Credit: Netflix. Though some dont believe Mr Cotten is really gone, the money from Quadriga is. Stay up to date with what you want to know. 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. [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. A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Was he avoiding something or someone? Cotten was the only one with access to necessary permissions. , 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. The circumstances sparked speculation from some in the crypto community that the CEO faked his death and stole his clients' money. Dying from Crohn's disease when only 1.6% of sufferers from this disease die of it and to happen to die from . 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. 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? 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? Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten | FAKE Behind 'Hunt For The Crypto King' Netflix | Where Are They Now?Subscribe Here! My sisters not a liar.. But the money, of course, was still missing. 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. Gerald Cotten (born 11 May 1988)[14] lived in Belleville, Ontario before attending the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. 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. April 2, 2022 Netflix Nobody was expecting Gerald Cotten, the CEO of Canadian Bitcoin exchange QuadrigaCX, to die at 30. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King is now streaming on Netflix. 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. 29 2022, Published 3:03 p.m. Cotten neglected to pass on the passwords to the accounts, and in 2019, when investigators tracked down Cotten's digital wallets, all the money was gone. 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. The documentary follows a group of Quadriga investors turned sleuths who dig into the suspicious death of Cotten and the millions of missing cryptocurrency they believe Cotten stole from them, according to a tweet from Netflix announcing the film. They surfed his social media accounts at first, then traced Cottens digital footprints even more closely for clues. The tech-savvy individual traced domain names, links, and trades on the blockchain, discovering a lengthy track-record of schemes, from Mr Cottens early days on TalkGold, to his association with a business partner named Michael Patryn. 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. Its the swindler story you havent heard of until now. 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. Gerald Cotten had an estimated net worth of $80 million at the time of his death. In that case, $851 million entrusted to Crypto Capital had been "lost, stolen or absconded with", according to the suit. Even today, some investors remain unconvinced that Cotten really is dead. One of the. Gerald Cotten. The estate includes an airplane, a sailboat, a 2017 Lexus, and real estate in Nova Scotia and Kelowna, British Columbia. [16] In 2014 only C$7.4 million worth of bitcoin were exchanged on Quadriga. [2], In January 2019 Ernst & Young reported that Quadriga did not have a bank account, but instead used third-party payment processors. 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. 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. 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. A new Netflix true-crime documentary is tackling a bizarre story from the world of cryptocurrency. Given the intrigue, some went so far as to question whether Mr Cotten had really died and demanded his body be exhumed. Netflix's 'Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King' explores the story of Gerald Cotten, founder and CEO of Canadian crypto exchange business QuadrigaCX, whose passed away unexpectedly in 2018. 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. 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. 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. You get rid of a lot of the regulations, he said on a podcast in 2014. We pay for your stories! [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. Cotten told a Globe and Mail reporter that the banks, which didnt trust crypto exchanges, had frozen the exchanges bank accounts. Fifteen years later, Mr Cotten, known as Gerry, would be accused of swindling people online of a much bigger prize. 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. 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. Thats when the. "I couldn't get any sleep. He graduated from York with a bachelor of business administration in 2010. 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 two first met in November 2014 and had been together for some time before tying the knot in October 2018. She says she never received the passwords. 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. Netflix Special on Bitcoin Fraudster Gerald Cotten, His Wife, and QuadrigaCX. It apparently had no formal accounting system. The company's CEO and founder, Gerald William Cotten, allegedly died in 2018 after traveling to India. Some speculate that Cotten, who suffered with Crohn's disease, might actually be alive. 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. California (2) Massachusetts (1) Texas (2) Refine Your Search Results. Its pretty much money by people for people.. Still, all this evidence was circumstantialinvestors hadnt yet found a smoking gun. Shortly after, the exchange stopped working entirely. Given the mysterious circumstances of his deathand the enormous amount of money he controlledits no surprise that conspiracies quickly sprang up in an attempt to piece together the puzzles around his death. Using a reputable custodian to hold the private keys outside the company is perhaps the best option to ensure these codes are not lost, Erik Wilgenhof Plante, the former CCO of the exchange BeQuant, told The Independent at the time. The OSC. So, Patryn: shit-stirrer, criminal mastermind or another one beguiled by Cotten? Here Is Why People Think Gerald Cotten Is Still Alive. "[18], The company tried to raise money and list on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) working with Patryn. [24][25][26], According to court filings, Quadriga also used WB21 as a payment processor. He died just nine days into his honeymoon due to an acute stomach ache. Cbc.ca. And, wildly, was Jennifer, his wife, even. However, it was eventually discovered that Gerald had transferred all of his belongings to his wife before his death. There were other problems around that time. He was able to keep the venture, called S&S Investments, going for three months, before it folded and investors money was gone. "What Quadriga really did with the money that customers gave it to buy Bitcoin remains a mystery," according to Chainalysis. There's a small chance that someone was investigating his old accounts and that they accessed his BlackHat but it's very unlikely. 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. Gerald Cotten, 30, died abruptly in December 2018 of complications relating to Crohns disease while on honeymoon in Jaipur, India, with his wife, Jennifer Robertson. The 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. Quadriga Fintech Solutions was the owner and operator of QuadrigaCX, which was believed to be Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Then the Ontario Securities Commission opened an investigation. Gerald Cotten is allegedly meant to have died from Crohns disease after the exchange crashed. Then Gerald Cotten suddenly died, in December of 2018, from complications with Crohn's disease. 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. She had accompanied him to a hospital in Jaipur the previous day and he was diagnosed with septic shock, perforation, peritonitis, and intestinal obstruction. There's only two people who really know what happened in India. "I kept asking them: Where's my money? that after 2016, QuadrigaCX stopped producing consistent data about its holdings, and that large volumes of cryptocurrencies were being sent to foreign crypto exchanges. Gerald Cotten, 30, held the virtual keys to a whopping $137 . Overcast with rain showers at times. Netflix has seen a boom with its true-crime docuseries, from 'Tiger King' to 'Making a Murderer.' 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". 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. His death certificate was issued by the Indian authorities and contains an incorrect spelling of his name. Companies have backups, safeguards to protect against this kind of thing. So his spiral down into a life of crime was either pure greed or him seeking the thrill. Both Canadas tax authorities and the FBI are also investigating the company. After his death in December, his colleagues said that about $137 million in cryptocurrency belonging to about 115,000 customers was held offline in "cold storage" and inaccessible. The only catch: only Gerry knew the passwords to the companys crypto-vaults. Gerald Cotten was the founder of one of Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Quadriga CX. 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. https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/hiring-a-programmer-website-like-bitstamp-bitcoin-trading-project.605236/. Business picked up when Bitcoin hit the big time in 2017, reaching prices close to $20,000. A C$100,000 trust fund was made to provide lifelong care for Cotten's two chihuahuas in case of Robertson's death. [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. Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. 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. as well as other partner offers and accept our. And, wildly, was Jennifer, his wife, even real? Lawyers representing investors in what BBC. 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. 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. - October, November, December - during all that time," he said. So far, only about $46 million has been recovered. Something was afoot. Cotten was young, energetic, passionate about cryptocurrency so when. Then, the crypto millionaire suddenly died in India from complications from Crohn's disease about three years ago. Wood ordered a "30-day stay that precludes filing of claims against Quadriga", which is a temporary legal protection from its creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, a legal status that allows insolvent corporations to restructure their business and financial affairs. By Robin Hill-Gray. [9][10], The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were reportedly investigating the company. 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.
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