Key Takeaways
- • On Oct. 22, 2026, the New York Attorney General's office asked a state court to order NovaTech founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion to pay $1.367 billion, comprising $1.13 billion in disgorgement and $232.5 million in prejudgment interest.
- • Of roughly $1.16 billion in investor cryptocurrency deposited between August 2019 and May 2023, only $25.99 million (2.2%) reached the B2Broker trading account, and about $18.19 million of that was lost in trading.
- • At least $134.5 million in withdrawals went to wallets belonging to the Petions, more than five times the amount that reached the trading platform, according to the filing's figures.
- • Four top promoters agreed to pay a combined $5.98 million in disgorgement and accepted permanent bans from the securities, commodities and crypto industries, representing the realistic near-term recovery for victims.
- • The founders are reported to have fled the country after a default judgment in August 2025, sharply limiting the state's ability to collect the $1.37 billion award.
Summary
New York Attorney General Letitia James's office filed papers on Oct. 22 asking a state court to set the monetary award against NovaTech founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion at nearly $1.37 billion, according to the attorney general's office. The request follows an August 2025 default judgment finding the couple liable after they failed to respond to the lawsuit filed in June 2024. The office says the couple has since fled the country. The filing also seeks a separate roughly $6.15 million, including interest, tied to the Petions' earlier venture, AWS Mining.
The state's investigators reconstructed NovaTech's money flows from CoinPayments transaction records. Investors deposited about $1.16 billion in cryptocurrency between August 2019 and May 2023, but NovaTech sent only $25.99 million to B2Broker, the trading platform provider it used. Traders lost about $18.19 million of that amount. The filing alleges at least $134.5 million in withdrawals went to wallets belonging to the Petions, with Cynthia authorizing the transfers. The state alleges purported trading profits and recruitment bonuses were paid from new investors' deposits, a Ponzi structure layered on a pyramid recruitment scheme. NovaTech also falsely presented itself as a registered hedge fund broker licensed to trade crypto in the U.S. and advertised weekly returns of 2% to 4%.
The Petions previously promoted AWS Mining, which promised monthly returns of 15% to 20% before collapsing in 2019. They then launched NovaTech and recruited through prayer groups, WhatsApp chats, social media, and Haitian Creole advertising with religious messaging, according to the attorney general's office. More than 11,000 New Yorkers across the two schemes lost tens of millions of dollars, the office says. James stated that the scammers "targeted immigrant and religious communities with the promise of a better life but instead robbed them of their life savings."
Four top promoters, Martin Zizi ($2.9 million), Frantz Ciceron ($2.05 million), James Corbett ($750,000), and Ricardo Roy Sr. ($275,861), settled for a combined $5.98 million in disgorgement for victims' benefit and accepted permanent industry bans. The $1.37 billion sought is roughly 229 times that amount. Disgorgement strips alleged illicit gains and prejudgment interest compensates for time value, but neither is a payment already made or a final collected judgment. With the founders outside U.S. jurisdiction, distribution to victims depends on locating assets. The SEC separately charged the Petions in August 2024 over an alleged $650 million fraud. The filing is described as the largest monetary ask the New York AG's office has attached to a crypto fraud case.
The state's investigators reconstructed NovaTech's money flows from CoinPayments transaction records. Investors deposited about $1.16 billion in cryptocurrency between August 2019 and May 2023, but NovaTech sent only $25.99 million to B2Broker, the trading platform provider it used. Traders lost about $18.19 million of that amount. The filing alleges at least $134.5 million in withdrawals went to wallets belonging to the Petions, with Cynthia authorizing the transfers. The state alleges purported trading profits and recruitment bonuses were paid from new investors' deposits, a Ponzi structure layered on a pyramid recruitment scheme. NovaTech also falsely presented itself as a registered hedge fund broker licensed to trade crypto in the U.S. and advertised weekly returns of 2% to 4%.
The Petions previously promoted AWS Mining, which promised monthly returns of 15% to 20% before collapsing in 2019. They then launched NovaTech and recruited through prayer groups, WhatsApp chats, social media, and Haitian Creole advertising with religious messaging, according to the attorney general's office. More than 11,000 New Yorkers across the two schemes lost tens of millions of dollars, the office says. James stated that the scammers "targeted immigrant and religious communities with the promise of a better life but instead robbed them of their life savings."
Four top promoters, Martin Zizi ($2.9 million), Frantz Ciceron ($2.05 million), James Corbett ($750,000), and Ricardo Roy Sr. ($275,861), settled for a combined $5.98 million in disgorgement for victims' benefit and accepted permanent industry bans. The $1.37 billion sought is roughly 229 times that amount. Disgorgement strips alleged illicit gains and prejudgment interest compensates for time value, but neither is a payment already made or a final collected judgment. With the founders outside U.S. jurisdiction, distribution to victims depends on locating assets. The SEC separately charged the Petions in August 2024 over an alleged $650 million fraud. The filing is described as the largest monetary ask the New York AG's office has attached to a crypto fraud case.
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