NovaTech crypto fraud case as New York seeks $1.37 billion from founders, featuring cryptocurrency, a courthouse, and a judge’s gavel.

NovaTech Faces $1.37B Crypto Fraud Claim in New York

By /

Key Insights

  • The financial divide is wide. NovaTech is said to have received 1.16 billion dollars in cryptos. Novatech sent only $25.99 million to B2Broker for trading.
  • Promoter penalties offer recovery so far. The nearly $5.98 million in settlements is small compared with the $1.367 billion sought from the founders.
  • The other difficulty is to collect the judgment. Failure of the founders to report leaving the United States and missing accounting records makes asset recovery and compensation for victims more difficult.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is asking for $1.37 billion from NovaTech founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion because of an alleged cryptocurrency investment fraud. A court document dated October 22 2026 is asking for $1.134 billion in money that should be given back and about $232.5 million in interest before the case is decided. This case comes after a default judgment in 2025 and settlements that made four promoters pay almost $6 million.

NovaTech crypto fraud claim details emerge

The newest document explains the amount of money that investors deposited and how the money moved through NovaTechs accounts. Investigators found that about $1.16 billion in cryptocurrency was deposited through the company’s CoinPayments account, between August 2019 and May 2023.

However, NovaTech transferred only $25.99 million to B2Broker, a provider of cryptocurrency trading infrastructure. According to the filing, traders subsequently lost approximately $18.19 million of that amount. Prosecutors claim NovaTech was using new investor deposits to pay for some of the purported “trading profits” and recruitment bonuses. This meant that the lack of real trading income was hidden in this arrangement as well.

The filing also identifies transfers involving the founders. Cynthia Petion allegedly authorized at least $134.5 million in cryptocurrency transfers from NovaTech’s CoinPayments wallet to wallets belonging to herself and Eddy Petion.

The attorney general’s office is pursuing the funds through its monetary relief request. Investigators say incomplete financial records have complicated efforts to reconcile transactions and identify every affected investor.

Court judgment strengthens New York’s pursuit

James filed a lawsuit against NovaTech, AWS Mining, their founders and promoters in June 2024. The complaint alleged that the operations involved in such schemes were illegal, whether they were considered pyramid schemes, and that the investors were being deceived with offers of significant returns.

In August, 2025, a default judgment was issued by a court in New York, in the absence of any response from the Petions and related companies. The court restricted their participation in cryptocurrency and securities businesses, while a separate proceeding would determine financial relief.

James’s office says the founders left the United States and did not participate in the proceedings. Their absence, however, does not eliminate the state’s ability to pursue financial judgments.

The latest filing requests approximately $1.367 billion in relief connected to NovaTech. Prosecutors separately seek about $6.15 million, including interest, in connection with AWS Mining. The state also faces difficulties determining the full losses because the defendants have not supplied all requested investor records and financial accounts.

Four Promoters Agree to Pay Nearly $6 Million

On October 22, James announced settlements with Martin Zizi, Frantz Ciceron, Ricardo Roy Sr., and James Corbett. The agreements require payments totaling approximately $5.98 million for the benefit of victims.

Each promoter also faces a ban from the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries. Prosecutors accuse each promoter of misleading investors promoting investment products and encouraging recruitment in exchange, for commissions.

The individual settlement amounts are as follows.

  • Martin Zizi agreed to pay $2.9 million.
  • Frantz Ciceron agreed to pay $2.05 million.
  • James Corbett agreed to pay $750,000.
  • Ricardo Roy Sr. agreed to pay $275,861.

James said the schemes exploited immigrant and religious communities through promises of financial security. The attorney generals lawsuit says that the promoters got investors by going to events using social media, WhatsApp groups and ads, in Haitian Creole.

Over 11,000 New Yorkers are said to have lost money. Federal regulators separately accused NovaTech of defrauding more than 200,000 investors worldwide through a multilevel marketing operation.

Investment promises draw wider regulatory scrutiny

NovaTech followed AWS Mining, which collapsed in 2019 after promising investors monthly returns of 15% to 20%. The operation also offered recruitment commissions and claimed investments could double within approximately 15 months.

The Petions subsequently launched NovaTech, which promoted cryptocurrency and foreign exchange packages promising weekly returns of 2% to 4%. Investigators state that these returns were not based on a “legitimate trading basis” and relied on funds from those who entered in the past.

NovaTech went under in 2023 and investors were unable to recoup their investment. The allegations point to the risks of investment programs with extremely high profit levels and recruitment bonuses, and the absence of financial transparency.

The Martin Act gives prosecutors wide latitude to prosecute securities fraud in New York. Nevertheless, obtaining a judgment does not guarantee recovery, particularly when defendants reside outside the country or investigators cannot readily locate assets.

The nearly $6 million in promoter settlements represents a separate recovery effort. It remains substantially below the amount New York seeks from the founders.

Conclusion

With industry prohibitions and settlements against promoters and the multibillion dollar financial claim, the NovaTech crypto fraud case is now in an entirely new ballpark. New York still needs to seek recoverable assets and determine the extent of the losses by the investors. The result may have ramifications for the way law enforcement tackles cryptocurrency schemes that claim to use recruitment and new investments to produce returns, rather than actual investment gains.

Related Posts

Scroll to Top