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. 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. The circumstances are dodgy that they chose to honeymoon to India and he suddenly dies from complications of Crohn's disease. She says she never received the passwords. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops delivered daily to your inbox. Where was the rest of the money? 'The Crypto King': Who is Gerald Cotten and Where is Gerry Now? - Newsweek Sign up for notifications from Insider! But when the banks, the law, and the. But when co-founder Cotten died during a honeymoon in India, the money was seemingly lost forever. name was not the same as Robertsons ex-husband, some angry investors lobbed death threats at Jennifer, convinced that she had murdered Cotten, too. TRUST NO ONE: THE HUNT FOR THE CRYPTO 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. - October, November, December - during all that time," he said. Netflix Special Explores Gerald Cotten's Wife and the QuadrigaCX Scandal The mystery of Cotten and Quadriga is now the subject of podcasts Exit Scam and A Death In Cryptoland. [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. Cotten was young, energetic, passionate about cryptocurrency so when. Finally, the OSC discovered something that cracked the case wide open. It essentially removes the need for a central authority. So the Globe goes to Cottens hospital in India to put the whole fake death thing to bed. **Warning Spoilers ahead for Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King**. 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. The OSC. Premieres in 2022 pic.twitter.com/rP9iFJHkWm. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. 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. The laptop computer from which Gerry carried out the companies business is encrypted and I do not know the password or recovery key. [42] Another three empty wallets were believed to possibly be owned by Quadriga. In court filings, it was revealed that Mr Cottens email was listed as Midas Golds contact. Quadriga had four employees in 2015 with offices in Vancouver and Toronto, but ran out of money by June 2015. "It just makes me more depressed about it," Zou told Sky News. Both Canadas tax authorities and the FBI are also investigating the company. His death left investors locked out of their money and left Jennifer Robertson, Gerry's wife . When Quadriga CEO Gerald Cotten died suddenly in 2018, the passcodes for his cryptocurrency exchange died with him. [54], A 2021 8-episode podcast entitled Exit Scam followed the buildup of Quadriga, and investigated whether Gerald Cotten had faked his own death. While Robertson has possession of the laptop containing the necessary passwords, she remains locked out. Netflix Special on Bitcoin Fraudster Gerald Cotten, His Wife, and QuadrigaCX. It was a perfect match, sparked up on Tinder, she said in the documentary. There were other problems around that time. One source in the doco goes as far as to claim Cotton may have used a substance known as "Haitian zombie powder" to fake his death. [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. He was 30-years-old at the time of his death. pic.twitter.com/rGymJ5f9Or. 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. Dhanani also had pleaded guilty to burglary and grand theft charges and had been deported to Canada. 'Bitcoin widow' reveals how she fell victim to her own husband's $215m Here Is Why People Think Gerald Cotten Is Still Alive. It certainly started to look like fraud, said one anonymous investor in the doc. , initially diagnosed Cotten with little more than travelers diahrrea, but kept him in hospital just in case. , one of the co-founders, registered the domain name for QuadrigaCXnot Gerry. 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. "I kept asking them: Where's my money? 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. 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. Cotten passed away from complications that arose from Crohns disease while on a honeymoon in Indiaapparently taking some $215 million of customer funds to the grave. The sudden death of Gerald Cotten in December 2018 plunged the world of cryptocurrency into chaos. 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. In December 2018, Cotten died during his honeymoon with his wife, Jennifer Robertson, in Jaipur, India. He was able to keep the venture, called S&S Investments, going for three months, before it folded and investors money was gone. A sneak preview of the Netflix doc contains images that suggest the documentary will show the investors dive deeper into these conspiracies. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Gerald Betzen (4 matches): Phone Number, Email, Address - Spokeo Quadriga CX was left owning its 76,000 investors around $215million (CAD). By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider [3][4][5], Quadriga likely never invested the funds entrusted to it, according to Chainalysis, a cryptocurrency tracking firm. Gerald Cotten is allegedly meant to have died from Crohn's disease after the exchange crashed. Though some dont believe Mr Cotten is really gone, the money from Quadriga is. The estate includes an airplane, a sailboat, a 2017 Lexus, and real estate in Nova Scotia and Kelowna, British Columbia. 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 and his wife, Jennifer Robertson, jetted all over the world on private planes, visiting chic locales in Paris, Hawaii, and Morocco. "You appear dead for a few days, until you get the cure," the source said. Its pretty much money by people for people.. The only catch: only Gerry knew the passwords to the companys crypto-vaults. The company raised C$850,000 but cancelled plans to list on the exchange in early 2016. at the time Canadas largest cryptocurrency exchange, Gerald Cotten, 30, died in questionable circumstances, Canadian company founder took crucial password to the grave. [17][20], In 2017, Bitcoin experienced a speculative frenzy rising in price from about US$1,000 to almost US$20,000. But Cotten was a bad trader: losing money hand over fist, he gambled away about $150 million of customer funds. It comes as we revealed some of the world's biggest crypto scams following the case of Bitcoin tradersRaees Cajee, 21 and Ameer, 18,who fledSouth Africa after allegedly pocketing 2.5billion. You transferred them $1,000 and you could see the crypto in your account. 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. NOW WATCH: Netflix is headed for a huge profit milestone in 2018, Personal Finance Insider's picks for best cryptocurrency exchanges. 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. The couple were on their honeymoon in India, where Jennifer had dreams of opening an orphanage. "I couldn't get any sleep. Likewise, the public was not much intrigued about their lives up until . Where Is Gerald Cotten Now? - Vimbuzz.com 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. 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. An official investigation concluded that Quadriga was"an old-fashioned fraud wrapped in modern technology". Some people called for Geralds body to be exhumed. Indeed, QuadrigaCX launched just three months after sceptre put out a call to build a crypto exchange. [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. 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. No longer a likable nerd, investors thought that Gerald, now sceptre, had been operating scams since he was 15. 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. Gerald Cotten, 30, held the virtual keys to a whopping $137 . There was no autopsy on the body, for instance, and Cotten had signed his will two weeks after he diedleaving his riches to Jennifer. Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. Companies have backups, safeguards to protect against this kind of thing. [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. Either this is a 1 in 100 million coincidence or he is still alive. - Watch Full Details ! as well as other partner offers and accept our. Gerald Cotten Really Dead ? Gerald Cotten Still Alive ? - Watch Full 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. Dying from Crohn's disease when only 1.6% of sufferers from this disease die of it and to happen to die from . Subsequent investigations found that Michael Patryn, one of the co-founders, registered the domain name for QuadrigaCXnot Gerry. His body was repatriated to Canada and a funeral was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Given the intrigue, some went so far as to question whether Mr Cotten had really died and demanded his body be exhumed. I didnt know that Gerry was married, he says. [34][35], On 14 January 2019,[36] Quadriga announced that their CEO, Gerald Cotten, had died the month prior from Crohn's disease while doing volunteer work at an orphanage in India. I just prayed. California (2) Massachusetts (1) Texas (2) Refine Your Search Results. Shortly after, the exchange stopped working entirely. Robertson has denied any knowledge of her husband's wrongdoing - and in 2019 returned $9million to the company to repay users. [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. Here's a link to the BlackHat forum. Then, the crypto millionaire suddenly died in India from complications from Crohn's disease about three years ago. 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. When Taylor Monahan, founder of MyCrypto, examined the exchanges cold wallets, she couldnt find the lost crypto. Retrieved 18 January 2022. [42], Quadriga continued to accept deposits until 26 January. I believe this is the reason why Quadriga could be formed because they made a fortune from Scamming before Quadriga. 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. 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. 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. He passed away in 2018 with the secret of $250 million. Mr Cottens story is now the subject of the documentary Dead Mans Switch: A Crypto Mystery, which streams on Discovery+, and in the new memoir of wife Jennifer Robertson, Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal and the Missing Millions. A Canadian bank froze another $21 million of funds. Is Gerald Cotten really dead? : r/QuadrigaCX - reddit