The Crypto King, aka Gerald "Gerry" Cotten, died in 2018, but his mysterious death is still a subject of controversy today. Netflix announced an upcoming documentary about the Quadriga Bitcoin saga and the death of CEO Gerald Cotten. 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. An official investigation concluded that Quadriga was"an old-fashioned fraud wrapped in modern technology". Two years after Liberty Reserve was taken down, the pair launched Quadriga, though Mr Patryn left the company in 2016 over a dispute on whether to list the company publicly and claims no involvement in the resulting schemes. The user said that he left the company in 2016, and that the company was legitimate at the time. 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. 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. 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. The public didnt learn about the death for another 36 days, until January 2019. Many believe that Cotten faked his death, however, as part of an exit scam to get away with. 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. 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. We explain who Gerald Cotten is, the subject of this documentary, and reveal where he is now, including the mystery surrounding his downfall. Still, all this evidence was circumstantialinvestors hadnt yet found a smoking gun. Did Cotten fake his own death, investors began to ask, absconding to lands anew under a new name and a surgically rejigged face? Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Some have speculated his death was a clever ruse and there have been calls to have his body exhumed to prove it was a "fake". The circumstances sparked speculation from some in the crypto community that the CEO faked his death and stole his clients' money. 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. Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten died in 2018, taking password to access funds with him Credit: Netflix. 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. Jilted investors of Cotton's crypto firm QuadrigaCX have demanded his corpse be exhumed and tests run to confirm its his body. [47], Gerald Cotten's widow has maintained that she knew nothing about her husband's activities and agreed to forfeit $12 million in assets. CRYPTO scams are popping up all over the internet. The streaming service announced the feature alongside a slate of upcoming true-crime projects last week. Here's a link to the BlackHat forum. Supposedly, Cottens business associates didnt even know he was married. He hopes the Netflix doc will get authorities to "move their asses and do something about it" but also to raise awareness "so it doesn't happen to other people". His body was repatriated to Canada and a funeral was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. November 28, 2022 by Nurudeen. Indeed, QuadrigaCX launched just three months after sceptre put out a call to build a crypto exchange. A big chunk of it was given to him by his parents. 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. There's only two people who really know what happened in India. Despite no concrete evidenceindeed, the murdered mans. Gerald Cotten (born 11 May 1988)[14] lived in Belleville, Ontario before attending the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. Then you get rid of the fees. The podcast was reported by Aaron Lammer and Lane Brown.[55]. Investigations into the firm revealed that Mr Cotten made numerous fake accounts on Quadriga to influence trades on the platform, at one time being involved personally in 87 per cent of transactions. 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. 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. 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. [54], A 2021 8-episode podcast entitled Exit Scam followed the buildup of Quadriga, and investigated whether Gerald Cotten had faked his own death. 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. Lawyers representing investors in what BBC. Cotten's sudden death in 2018 led to the disappearance of millions of dollars. I ended up losing my life savings I lost $400,000, Tong Zou, a tech worker quoted in the film, says. So what exactly happened to Cotten, and is he still alive somewhere sitting on a mountain of stolen crypto? Jennifer, scared for her safety, entered a safe house. [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. 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. When Quadriga CEO Gerald Cotten died suddenly in 2018, the passcodes for his cryptocurrency exchange died with him. All Filters. Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness (Holt). Thats when the Globe started to be convinced that he was dead, after all. Mr Cotten, 30 at the time of his death, seemed to be living the dream life of a financial titan. He and his wife, Jennifer Robertson, jetted all over the world on private planes, visiting chic locales in Paris, Hawaii, and Morocco. California (2) Massachusetts (1) Texas (2) Refine Your Search Results. 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 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. Some also believe that Gerald isnt even dead at all but rather hiding away with the hundreds of millions of dollars he controlled. Quadriga Fintech Solutions was the owner and operator of QuadrigaCX, which was believed to be Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange.In 2019 the exchange ceased operations and the company filed for bankruptcy with C$215.7 million in liabilities and about C$28 million in assets.. He launched QuadrigaCX in 2013, and it quickly became one of the largest crypto exchanges. 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. His death certificate was issued by the Indian authorities and contains an incorrect spelling of his name. Shortly after, the exchange stopped working entirely. 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. A sneak preview of the Netflix doc contains images that suggest the documentary will show the investors dive deeper into these conspiracies. For instance, had Cottens death certificate, which spelled his name as Cottan, been faked? 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. #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/ 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. Cryptocurrency investors locked out of $190m after exchange founder dies, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Quadriga started by doing only local trades. [33] Aaron Matthews served as Director of Operations. When Taylor Monahan, founder of MyCrypto, examined the exchanges cold wallets, she couldnt find the lost crypto. Resides in Beverly Hills, CA. 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. The couple were on their honeymoon in India, where Jennifer had dreams of opening an orphanage. There were other problems around that time. And not even. "It just makes me more depressed about it," Zou told Sky News. 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. Netflix Special on Bitcoin Fraudster Gerald Cotten, His Wife, and QuadrigaCX. His body was repatriated to . The Netflix documentary will follow investors-turned-investigators looking into theories on the founder's sudden death. Thats when the. But the money, of course, was still missing. Reported by Fansided, Globe and Mail journalist Nathan Vanderklippe spoke to Dr. Sharma, who dealt with Cotten when he came into the hospital. [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. Re-thinking indemnification for smart contract risks", "Bitcoin investors face long delays cashing out, criticize two B.C. Zou trusted Quadriga CX, Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange, with C$500,000 (305,000). CIBC stated that they could not determine the ownership of the money and could not contact Cotten or Quadriga. Netflix has seen a boom with its true-crime docuseries, from 'Tiger King' to 'Making a Murderer.' Still, all this evidence was circumstantialinvestors hadnt yet found a smoking gun. He convinced tons of investors to fork over their money so he could invest it into Crypto. It stated that Gerald Cotten committed fraud by opening accounts under aliases and crediting himself with fictitious currency and crypto asset balances, which he traded with unsuspecting clients and that "What happened at Quadriga was an old-fashioned fraud wrapped in modern technology. Rather than pay customers via bank wires, they were told to come to a nondescript building in Laval, Quebec to pick up the cash. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King is now streaming on Netflix. goes to Cottens hospital in India to put the whole fake death thing to bed. You transferred them $1,000 and you could see the crypto in your account. The thing about conspiracy theories, though, is that they mutate out of control very quickly, and arent always reflective of the latest evidence. And why did the Indian hospital that treated Cotten misspell his name on his death certificate? Cotten was young, energetic, passionate about cryptocurrency so when. Netflix announced an upcoming documentary about the Quadriga Bitcoin saga and the death of CEO 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. It was alleged that Patryn was involved in a money-laundering ring under a different nameOmar Dhanani. His clients were locked out of about $250 million, and investigators later. I didnt know that Gerry was married, he says. 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. X-rays. Dying from Crohn's disease when only 1.6% of sufferers from this disease die of it and to happen to die from . [17], In 2016, Cotten became the sole director of Quadriga when all the other directors resigned. According to an investigation by Canada's Globe and Mail, Cotten. Is Gerald Cotten really dead? Citing decomposition concerns, lawyers requested the exhumation be completed no later than spring 2020. G erald Cotten was 15 when he ran his first documented get-rich-quick scheme. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider When Canadian blockchain whiz Gerald Cotten died unexpectedly last year, hundreds of millions of dollars in investor funds vanished into the crypto ether. Where was the rest of the money? Did he Die? Customers reported that once they arrived, there was nobody in the office, or that there was no cash to be disbursed. And with the mystery of Quadriga still being unraveled by the Feds, Mounties, amateur sleuths and investigative journalists - the question remains what happened to Cotten? Cbc.ca. 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. The dude literally said that comment as a complete joke, and I even . "Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King". So, Patryn: shit-stirrer, criminal mastermind or another one beguiled by Cotten? [19], Some Reddit users have suggested that Cotten faked his own death in order to defraud customers through an exit scam, while others believe that Cotten's death exposed a Ponzi scheme. At this point, lots of investors think that Cotten, a man alleged to have a history of scamming, really had faked his own death. 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. Given the intrigue, some went so far as to question whether Mr Cotten had really died and demanded his body be exhumed. Quadriga's accounts are estimated to have held 190million ($250million). It was a perfect match, sparked up on Tinder, she said in the documentary. Zou resorted to the cryptocurrency scheme to avoid bank charges when moving Vancouver, shifting his money from the US to a Canadian account. Gerald Cotten died suddenly of Crohn's disease - or did he? The user said that he left the company in 2016, and that the company was legitimate at the time. NOW WATCH: Netflix is headed for a huge profit milestone in 2018, Personal Finance Insider's picks for best cryptocurrency exchanges. 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 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. 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. Quadriga's customers are owed C$260 million in cryptocurrency and cash. reporters had a hunch that this was Gerry Cotten, and traced the account to another online den of thieves, BlackHatWorld. Angry and suspicious investors congregated on Reddit and Telegram to try to get to the bottom of the mystery. But when the banks, the law, and the. 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. Someone tracked Patryn to a scam forum called TalkGold, where Patryn talked to one user in particular, sceptre, a bunch. Then the Ontario Securities Commission opened an investigation. 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. There's a small chance that someone was investigating his old accounts and that they accessed his BlackHat but it's very unlikely. [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. Uncertainty about the missing funds has fueled speculation that Cotten may still be alive. 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. And who dies from Crohns disease at 24 years old? (Neither men were charged in connection with Liberty Reserve). He appointed Peter Wedlake of Grant Thornton to be chief restructuring officer. The only catch: only Gerry knew the passwords to the companys crypto-vaults. 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.
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