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. 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. - October, November, December - during all that time," he said. After beginning as an entrepreneur, Cotten founded Quadriga Fintech Solutions in 2013 and the company evolved to become the largest crypto exchange in the country, and it even helped to legitimize Bitcoin. And why did the Indian hospital that treated Cotten misspell his name on his death certificate? [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. Gerald Cotten, 30, held the virtual keys to a whopping $137 . But even the forensic accountants only managed to trace $46 million of the total $215 million customers had deposited onto the exchange. 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. His body was embalmed and sent back to Canada for a closed-casket funeral. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. , initially diagnosed Cotten with little more than travelers diahrrea, but kept him in hospital just in case. goes to Cottens hospital in India to put the whole fake death thing to bed. "So far, nothing's been found. There was no way of getting my money back. Zou trusted Quadriga CX, Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange, with C$500,000 (305,000). Lammer believes the evidence does suggest that Cotten died suddenly - having battled Crohn's disease for a number of years, even though the timing was suspicious. https://bit.ly/3cAIH4j Newest Vid's https:. And, wildly, was Jennifer, his wife, even. Photo by Gaetano Cessati on Unsplash. Was Patryn, whom employees described as a macho, terrifying character, calling the shots, not Cotten? 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. [24][25][26], According to court filings, Quadriga also used WB21 as a payment processor. He graduated from York with a bachelor of business administration in 2010. To add credence to the theory that he faked his own death and is still alive, Bloomberg reported that the crypto exchange founder filed his will just 12 days before he apparently died. [32] It also stated that Quadriga has 363,000 registered users and a sum of C$250 million is owed to 115,000 affected users. (India is notorious for forging fake death certificates by paying people off). lets break it all down. A C$100,000 trust fund was made to provide lifelong care for Cotten's two chihuahuas in case of Robertson's death. Then, as their accounts accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars, Gerald passed unexpectedly, taking the passwords to the accounts to his grave. Quadriga's customers are owed C$260 million in cryptocurrency and cash. But, due to the strict security of crypto, we may never know. Check out: Personal Finance Insider's picks for best cryptocurrency exchanges. 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". Robertsons sister, for the record, doesnt think that Cotten had fabricated his relationship with Jennifer. 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. Quadriga's accounts are estimated to have held 190million ($250million). Gerald Cotten was the founder of one of Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Quadriga CX. Gerald Cotten Still Alive ? pic.twitter.com/rGymJ5f9Or. Re-thinking indemnification for smart contract risks", "Bitcoin investors face long delays cashing out, criticize two B.C. 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. Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? She says she never received the passwords. 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. Was the CEOknown for his luxurious lifestyle, which included jets, supercars and vacationsmurdered by a mob debt collector or a jealous lover? 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. He first encountered Bitcoin in Vancouver, British . [37] According to an affidavit by the CEO's widow, approximately 115,000 customers are owed C$250 million (US$190 million), most of which was cryptocurrency held in Quadriga's cold wallet in the laptop that only the deceased CEO had access to. Here's my take on Gerald Cotten and his suspicious death. 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. 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. 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. 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. A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents. The streaming service announced the feature alongside a slate of upcoming true-crime projects last week. 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. The teen, a bright computer enthusiast from Belleville, Ontario, ran the operation on an online forum called TalkGold . Dhanani also had pleaded guilty to burglary and grand theft charges and had been deported to Canada. His body was repatriated to Canada and a funeral was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Still, questions about the missing money only mounted when two. They surfed his social media accounts at first, then traced Cottens digital footprints even more closely for clues. [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. Browse Locations. Business picked up when Bitcoin hit the big time in 2017, reaching prices close to $20,000. The sudden death of Gerald Cotten in December 2018 plunged the world of cryptocurrency into chaos. There were other problems around that time. All Filters. Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere, she said in court filings. And for some, things still looked suspicious. Cotten was the only one with access to necessary permissions. 4 people named Gerald Betzen found in California, Texas and Massachusetts. The estate includes an airplane, a sailboat, a 2017 Lexus, and real estate in Nova Scotia and Kelowna, British Columbia. The new documentary "Dead Man's Switch" looks at the mystery of Gerald Cotten, the QuadrigaCX CEO who unexpectedly died and some $250 in investors' money seemingly disappeared with him. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. 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. ", "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? Thats when the Globe started to be convinced that he was dead, after all. Here's my take on Gerald Cotten and his suspicious death. [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. Both Canadas tax authorities and the FBI are also investigating the company. 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. "[18], The company tried to raise money and list on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) working with Patryn. (His wife says he is in fact dead and witnessed his funeral). She had accompanied him to a hospital in Jaipur the previous day and he was diagnosed with septic shock, perforation, peritonitis, and intestinal obstruction. Gerald Cotten had an estimated net worth of $80 million at the time of his death. [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. [21], Throughout 2018, as Bitcoin prices crashed, customers of the exchange reported delays when attempting to withdraw dollars. Then you get rid of the fees. I could have put it in stocks. A computer issue wiped $14 million of Ethereum off the exchange. 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. [17][20], In 2017, Bitcoin experienced a speculative frenzy rising in price from about US$1,000 to almost US$20,000. 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. Customers reported that once they arrived, there was nobody in the office, or that there was no cash to be disbursed. 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,. Lawyers representing investors in what BBC. [2], In January 2019 Ernst & Young reported that Quadriga did not have a bank account, but instead used third-party payment processors. Netflix has seen a boom with its true-crime docuseries, from 'Tiger King' to 'Making a Murderer.' https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/hiring-a-programmer-website-like-bitstamp-bitcoin-trading-project.605236/. So, Patryn: shit-stirrer, criminal mastermind or another one beguiled by Cotten? [1], The company's CEO and founder, Gerald William Cotten, allegedly died in 2018 after traveling to India. 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. Then Gerald Cotten suddenly died, in December of 2018, from complications with Crohn's disease. The business was run from Cotten's encrypted laptop from Cotten's home in Fall River, Nova Scotia. 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. [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. 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,. 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. Did he Die? 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. 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. His clients were locked out of about $250 million, and investigators later. Thinking that Jennifer had murdered Cotten, the Telegram group spiraled out of control. The only catch: only Gerry knew the passwords to the companys crypto-vaults. thinks that Gerald is deadnor did he ever meet his wife. [28], Quadriga used an unusual teller-window system for customers to withdraw their money. There is a clear lesson here that having a single person owning this information creates a huge vulnerability.. [15] He learned about Bitcoin in Toronto and travelled to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he founded Quadriga in November 2013 with Michael Patryn. She has also said she has no idea what the passwords are to access sequestered customer funds, and that it wasnt written down anywhere. Everyone knows the story about the now-defunct QuadrigaCX . He was able to keep the venture, called S&S Investments, going for three months, before it folded and investors money was gone. Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. "What Quadriga really did with the money that customers gave it to buy Bitcoin remains a mystery," according to Chainalysis. https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/hiring-a-programmer-website-like-bitstamp-bitcoin-trading-project.605236/. [48], On 5 February 2019, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Michael J. [45], In June 2020, the Ontario Securities Commission officially concluded that Quadriga was indeed a fraud and a Ponzi scheme. Its the swindler story you havent heard of until now. We explain who Gerald Cotten is, the subject of this documentary, and reveal where he is now, including the mystery surrounding his downfall. "It just makes me more depressed about it," Zou told Sky News. 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. Image Credit: CTV Your Morning/YouTube. A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents.