Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? He appointed Peter Wedlake of Grant Thornton to be chief restructuring officer. "It did become an obsession.. It was one of the only games in town [for crypto enthusiasts], Sheona McDonald, who directed the film, told The New York Post. The business was run from Cotten's encrypted laptop from Cotten's home in Fall River, Nova Scotia. Netflix announced an upcoming documentary about the Quadriga Bitcoin saga and the death of CEO Gerald Cotten. The circumstances are dodgy that they chose to honeymoon to India and he suddenly dies from complications of Crohn's disease. 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. Image Source: Social Media. Customers have since struggled to regain access to their money, citing withdrawl issues and lack of communication from the company. , 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. 5 Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten died in 2018, taking password to access funds with him Credit: Netflix. Browse Locations. The Crypto King, aka Gerald "Gerry" Cotten, died in 2018, but his mysterious death is still a subject of controversy today. 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. 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. The thing about conspiracy theories, though, is that they mutate out of control very quickly, and arent always reflective of the latest evidence. I'm 99% sure he is still alive living nicely. Gerald Cotten was 15 when he ran his first documented get-rich-quick scheme. 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. A C$100,000 trust fund was made to provide lifelong care for Cotten's two chihuahuas in case of Robertson's death. 'Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King' will be released sometime in 2022. The Netflix documentary will follow investors-turned-investigators looking into theories on the founder's sudden death. Here's my take on Gerald Cotten and his suspicious death. 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. 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. Citing decomposition concerns, lawyers requested the exhumation be completed no later than spring 2020. Quadriga's accounts are estimated to have held 190million ($250million). [15] He learned about Bitcoin in Toronto and travelled to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he founded Quadriga in November 2013 with Michael Patryn. Even after Cotten's death news, some people still believe that he is alive, and one of the main reasons is because of his mysterious death. [42], Quadriga continued to accept deposits until 26 January. [17][20], In 2017, Bitcoin experienced a speculative frenzy rising in price from about US$1,000 to almost US$20,000. ^ "Quadriga CEO's widow speaks out over his death and the missing crypto millions". You transferred them $1,000 and you could see the crypto in your account. Likewise, the public was not much intrigued about their lives up until . [16] In 2014 only C$7.4 million worth of bitcoin were exchanged on Quadriga. Then you get rid of the fees. At this point, lots of investors think that Cotten, a man alleged to have a history of scamming, really had faked his own death. Stay up to date with what you want to know. For instance, had Cottens death certificate, which spelled his name as Cottan, been faked? We just send money from our Bitcoin app directly to those paper wallets, and keep it safe that way. He graduated from York in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. [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. 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. I didnt know that Gerry was married, he says. [52], The CBC released a 6-episode podcast about Quadriga and the death of its founder called A Death in Cryptoland. 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. A new Netflix true-crime documentary is tackling a bizarre story from the world of cryptocurrency. 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. [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. 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. [2], In January 2019 Ernst & Young reported that Quadriga did not have a bank account, but instead used third-party payment processors. Lawyers representing investors in what BBC. Quadriga had four employees in 2015 with offices in Vancouver and Toronto, but ran out of money by June 2015. After some more digging, the reporter found an order form filled out by one Gerald Cotten. Gerald and Jennifer kept most of their relationship away from the public. On 10 December, a death certificate was issued by the local municipality as well as a "no objection certificate" from the police to return the body to Nova Scotia. "I could have invested it in real estate. 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. Quadriga's customers are owed C$260 million in cryptocurrency and cash. But the money, of course, was still missing. 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. Then, as their accounts accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars, Gerald passed unexpectedly, taking the passwords to the accounts to his grave. [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. ET. 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". So his spiral down into a life of crime was either pure greed or him seeking the thrill. In December 2018, Cotten died during his honeymoon with his wife, Jennifer Robertson, in Jaipur, India. Thinking that Jennifer had murdered Cotten, the Telegram group spiraled out of control. Then the Ontario Securities Commission opened an investigation. Did he Die? Living a jet set life, he cruised the world on yachts, flew in private jets and investigators even released photos of piles of cash on his kitchen table. Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness (Holt). 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. So far, only about $46 million has been recovered. There is a clear lesson here that having a single person owning this information creates a huge vulnerability.. 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. 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. Cottens death will likely remain a mystery, with some believing that he is still residing somewhere in the world with the stolen money. 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. Even today, some investors remain unconvinced that Cotten really is dead. So the Globe goes to Cottens hospital in India to put the whole fake death thing to bed. 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. 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 believe this is the reason why Quadriga could be formed because they made a fortune from Scamming before Quadriga. 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. 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. Evidence of him faking death: There's lots of bizaare things that are suspicious. that after 2016, QuadrigaCX stopped producing consistent data about its holdings, and that large volumes of cryptocurrencies were being sent to foreign crypto exchanges. And not even. After some more digging, the reporter found an order form filled out by one Gerald Cotten. They also found a substantial amount of money was used to fund a lavish lifestyle for the couple, including the use of private jets and luxury vehicles. His will was signed off just two weeks before he and wife Jennifer Robertson travelled to India on their honeymoon. The couple were on their honeymoon in India, where Jennifer had dreams of opening an orphanage. [3][4][5], Quadriga likely never invested the funds entrusted to it, according to Chainalysis, a cryptocurrency tracking firm. Gerald Cotten (born 11 May 1988)[14] lived in Belleville, Ontario before attending the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. Following Quadrigas implosion in 2019, it was investigated by the Ontario Securities Commission, which concluded that, "what happened at Quadriga was an old-fashioned fraud wrapped in modern technology. 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". [54], A 2021 8-episode podcast entitled Exit Scam followed the buildup of Quadriga, and investigated whether Gerald Cotten had faked his own death.

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