A Lawsuit Claims a Billion-Dollar Pyramid Scheme by a ‘Reverend CEO’ Who Lured Members via Prayer Circles on a Crypto Trading Platform

• Leticia James, the Attorney General of New York, has initiated legal proceedings against the cryptocurrency firm NovaTechFx.

• Allegedly, the firm engaged in deceptive practices defrauding numerous individuals, predominantly within immigrant and faith-based groups.

• The legal filing refers to company founder Cynthia Petion as the “Reverend CEO” and alleges she deemed her backers a “cult.”

NovaTechFx, previously recognized for its rapid growth in the finance sector, is now described by the Attorney General of New York as a shell for an elaborate pyramid scam worth over $1 billion.

The Attorney General, Leticia James, initiated legal action against the vendor along with its owners, Cynthia and Eddy Petion, by filing with the New York Supreme Court.

The accusation maintains that the Petions swindled a vast audience globally, “garnering in excess of a billion dollars through the operation of two successive fraudulent investment ventures.” Additionally, defendant AWS Mining Pty makes an appearance in the claim, a cryptocurrency mining entity formerly managed by the Petions.

In 2022, NovaTechFx secured a position as one of the top-expanding digital financial services, drawing 12.4 million web visitors—a 518% spike from the prior year.

Contrary to the misleading representations made, NovaTechFx was not a “registered hedge fund broker,” and erroneously professed to hold global licenses for cryptocurrency trading, as per the filed complaint.

As detailed in the lawsuit, the couple specifically aimed to recruit Haitian migrants in New York City into their pyramid scheme via community prayer gatherings.

Upon founding NovaTechFx in 2019, Cynthia Petion rebranded herself as the “Reverend CEO,” proclaiming that her business represented “God’s vision,” the file recounts.

Private communications reveal her referring to herself as a “zookeeper” managing a cult of investors, the file notes, adding, “People join and follow unthinkingly… agreement comes without hesitation to anything said.”

According to the complaint, employees of NovaTechFx distributed flyers for company-sponsored prayer meetings with taglines like, “A team that prays together stays together & grows together.”

The Petions are listed as the runners of the NovaTechFx online platform, which the lawsuit indicates was the portal for cryptocurrency investments by individuals, as detailed in legal documents.

However, following receipt of such investment funds, NovaTechFx routed them “to a payment processor that rather than carrying out crypto trades for NovaTech merely housed them in the wallets of NovaTech,” the court documents reveal.

The AG’s office has disclosed that of the upward of $1 billion channelled through the site from 2019 to 2023, NovaTechFx conducted actual trades with only about $26 million.

James, in a public declaration, stated: “Countless New Yorkers were duped with promises of improved livelihood through trust in NovaTech and AWS Mining, but it was purely fictitious.” She continued, “These crypto firms preyed on communities of immigrants and the devout with pledges of economic liberation, instead absconding with their capital and eradicating their pensions.”

Renold Julien, director of Konbit Neg Lakay, stated that the Haitian immigrants seeking refuge in the U.S. from violence did not warrant such exploitation.

“I commend Attorney General James for her proactive stance in safeguarding all New Yorkers. We at Konbit Neg Lakay advocate for total reimbursement,” he stated.

Subsequent to the suit’s filing, the NovaTechFx website is now displaying a notice from Cynthia Petion reporting a “data infringement” and a temporary shutdown of the site.

The notice further indicates, “We are thrilled to announce that we have successfully reinstated 86% of all the official data from the trading platform. To execute withdrawals, all accounts are being migrated to a new domain. To re-establish access in full, please log in with your original details on the website.”

At the time of writing, NovaTechFx had not provided a response to an inquiry for comment from Business Insider.

For more details, view the original report on Business Insider.