[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. 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. The public didnt learn about the death for another 36 days, until January 2019. 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. Gerald Cotten (born 11 May 1988)[14] lived in Belleville, Ontario before attending the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. [17] In June 2017, Quadriga announced that they had lost ethereum worth US$14 million due to a smart contract error. , initially diagnosed Cotten with little more than travelers diahrrea, but kept him in hospital just in case. The user said that he left the company in 2016, and that the company was legitimate at the time. 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. name was not the same as Robertsons ex-husband, some angry investors lobbed death threats at Jennifer, convinced that she had murdered Cotten, too. 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. Here Is Why People Think Gerald Cotten Is Still Alive. "[46] The Official Ontario Securities report on Quadriga is attached here. The OSC. 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. There's only two people who really know what happened in India. Something was afoot. Quadriga's customers are owed C$260 million in cryptocurrency and cash. [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. California (2) Massachusetts (1) Texas (2) Refine Your Search Results. Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk, Ring removes free perks for millions of users, you'll have pay to get them back, Android users told check for five Google 'danger phrases' don't ignore list, Facebook's hidden list reveals if you're a 'target' for criminals, People are just realizing Apple upgraded the iPhone with 7 life-changing secrets, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Tong Zou tells his devastating story in new Netflix doc, Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten died in 2018, taking password to access funds with him. There is a clear lesson here that having a single person owning this information creates a huge vulnerability.. The circumstances sparked speculation from some in the crypto community that the CEO faked his death and stole his clients' money. After some more digging, the reporter found an order form filled out by one Gerald Cotten. 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. [42], Quadriga continued to accept deposits until 26 January. [52], The CBC released a 6-episode podcast about Quadriga and the death of its founder called A Death in Cryptoland. G erald Cotten was 15 when he ran his first documented get-rich-quick scheme. A Canadian bank froze another $21 million of funds. 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? He was 30-years-old. Thinking that Jennifer had murdered Cotten, the Telegram group spiraled out of control. Companies have backups, safeguards to protect against this kind of thing. For instance, had Cottens death certificate, which spelled his name as Cott, , been faked? It left Robertson the entire C$9.6-million estate and named her as the trustee. Have something to tell us about this article? Though some dont believe Mr Cotten is really gone, the money from Quadriga is. By Robin Hill-Gray. 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. Cryptocurrency investors locked out of $190m after exchange founder dies, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. And not even he thinks that Gerald is deadnor did he ever meet his wife. **Warning Spoilers ahead for Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King**. 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. "At that time, there was nothing I could do. I could have put it in stocks. Now Cottens jet-set lifestyle looked suspicious. 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. Gerald Cotten had an estimated net worth of $80 million at the time of his death. Gerald Cotten. 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. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Some speculate that Cotten, who suffered with Crohn's disease, might actually be alive. Quadriga Fintech Solutions was the owner and operator of QuadrigaCX, which was believed to be Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange. "I kept asking them: Where's my money? Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 4 to release Fall 2023, confirms new trailer, {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. 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. 5 It has led the pack of other streaming giants, producing the most projects in the true-crime genre as of 2020. Fourteen trading accounts that were also examined were used to trade on other exchanges. 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. #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/ While Robertson has possession of the laptop containing the necessary passwords, she remains locked out. In other news, Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 4 to release Fall 2023, confirms new trailer, Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King | Official Trailer | Netflix, https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vW2BPQ15OSw/hqdefault.jpg. 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 funeral, according to a Redditor claiming to be a contractor for QuadrigaCX, said that it was a closed-casket affair, and that Jennifer was fake grieving and dancing at the funeral to bacchanalian excess, and even kicked out Geralds family. Now . Things began to sour, however, in 2018, when the price of Bitcoin collapsed. Fifteen years later, Mr Cotten, known as Gerry, would be accused of swindling people online of a much bigger prize. But Cotten was a bad trader: losing money hand over fist, he gambled away about $150 million of customer funds. Gerald Cotten died suddenly of Crohn's disease - or did he? When Canadian blockchain whiz Gerald Cotten died unexpectedly last year, hundreds of millions of dollars in investor funds vanished into the crypto ether. [48], On 5 February 2019, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Either the funds were never received or quickly went missing. Cotten told a Globe and Mail reporter that the banks, which didnt trust crypto exchanges, had frozen the exchanges bank accounts. But the money, of course, was still missing. [54], A 2021 8-episode podcast entitled Exit Scam followed the buildup of Quadriga, and investigated whether Gerald Cotten had faked his own death. Customers reported that once they arrived, there was nobody in the office, or that there was no cash to be disbursed. The business was run from Cotten's encrypted laptop from Cotten's home in Fall River, Nova Scotia. Robertson has denied any knowledge of her husband's wrongdoing - and in 2019 returned $9million to the company to repay users. [50], Quadriga's lawyer, the firm Stewart McKelvey, withdrew from the case due to a potential conflict of interest. She says she never received the passwords. There were other problems around that time. His clients were locked out of about $250 million, and investigators later. 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. Cottens death will likely remain a mystery, with some believing that he is still residing somewhere in the world with the stolen money. 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 Patryn, whom employees described as a macho, terrifying character, calling the shots, not Cotten? 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. I believe this is the reason why Quadriga could be formed because they made a fortune from Scamming before Quadriga. Sign up for notifications from Insider! [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. He died just nine days into his honeymoon due to an acute stomach ache. Netflixs documentary definitely seems to be in the corner that Cotten did die, despite the mystery surrounding his 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. 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. Reported by Fansided, Globe and Mail journalist Nathan Vanderklippe spoke to Dr. Sharma, who dealt with Cotten when he came into the hospital. Jennifer RobertsonGerry Cotten,. All Filters. Cotten also took flying lessons as he appeared to be possibly preparing for a life on the run. [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. His death certificate was issued by the Indian authorities and contains an incorrect spelling of his name. He first encountered Bitcoin in Vancouver, British . Its pretty much money by people for people.. But months later, customers still couldnt take their money out. My sisters not a liar.. Many believe that Cotten faked his death, however, as part of an exit scam to get away with. 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. Some also believe that Gerald isnt even dead at all but rather hiding away with the hundreds of millions of dollars he controlled. Gerald Cotten is allegedly meant to have died from Crohns disease after the exchange crashed. Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten | FAKE Behind 'Hunt For The Crypto King' Netflix | Where Are They Now?Subscribe Here! But even the forensic accountants only managed to trace $46 million of the total $215 million customers had deposited onto the exchange. Some people called for Geralds body to be exhumed. 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". Quadriga had four employees in 2015 with offices in Vancouver and Toronto, but ran out of money by June 2015. "I could have invested it in real estate. 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. Cotten's sudden death in 2018 led to the disappearance of millions of dollars worth of his investors' Bitcoin funds. Business picked up when Bitcoin hit the big time in 2017, reaching prices close to $20,000. at the time Canadas largest cryptocurrency exchange, Gerald Cotten, 30, died in questionable circumstances, Canadian company founder took crucial password to the grave. 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. [47], Gerald Cotten's widow has maintained that she knew nothing about her husband's activities and agreed to forfeit $12 million in assets. Re-thinking indemnification for smart contract risks", "Bitcoin investors face long delays cashing out, criticize two B.C. 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. Dying from Crohn's disease when only 1.6% of sufferers from this disease die of it and to happen to die from . 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. 4 people named Gerald Betzen found in California, Texas and Massachusetts. 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. Given the intrigue, some went so far as to question whether Mr Cotten had really died and demanded his body be exhumed. [19] Other than a few contractors, it had no employees, offices or bank accounts thereafter. 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. A sneak preview of the Netflix doc contains images that suggest the documentary will show the investors dive deeper into these conspiracies. It was one of the only games in town [for crypto enthusiasts], Sheona McDonald, who directed the film, told The New York Post. Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. 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. thinks that Gerald is deadnor did he ever meet his wife. 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 transferred them $1,000 and you could see the crypto in your account. Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. Then the Ontario Securities Commission opened an investigation. Resides in Beverly Hills, CA. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. [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. An official investigation concluded that Quadriga was"an old-fashioned fraud wrapped in modern technology". [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. 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. But, due to the strict security of crypto, we may never know. 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. 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. Is Gerald Cotten really dead? [7] Meanwhile, in order to manage the finances of the company during the process, a third-party monitor, Ernst & Young, was appointed. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King. Then, the crypto millionaire suddenly died in India from complications from Crohn's disease about three years ago. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. 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. Still, questions about the missing money only mounted when two Globe and Mail reporters followed up on the case. It just wasnt there. 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. No longer a likable nerd, investors thought that Gerald, now sceptre, had been operating scams since he was 15. (His wife says he is in fact dead and witnessed his funeral). 'Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King' will be released sometime in 2022. Either this is a 1 in 100 million coincidence or he is still alive. https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/hiring-a-programmer-website-like-bitstamp-bitcoin-trading-project.605236/.