New York Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Crypto Trader NovaTech, Alleging $1 Billion Fraud — TradingView News

The New York Attorney General, Letitia James, has initiated legal proceedings against two interconnected cryptocurrency entities, asserting that they swindled over a billion dollars from numerous individuals. Named in the action are NovaTech, a crypto trading firm, along with its founders, Cynthia and Eddy Petion, the now-defunct crypto mining enterprise AWS Mining, and various related entities and individuals.

The lawsuit indicates that over 11,000 individuals from New York, particularly those within the Haitian community of the state, were defrauded of substantial sums by investing with NovaTech. The firm is accused of operating as a Ponzi scheme, purportedly leveraging religious influences to entice investors.

Furthermore, the complaint charges that NovaTech falsely represented its regulatory status, noting the firm was registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines until its license was revoked by the Financial Services Authority in January 2023, leading to the company’s collapse in May 2023.

Previous Allegations of Fraud

The Petions had been involved with AWS Mining prior to establishing NovaTech, which ceased operations in 2019 amid allegations of being another Ponzi scheme, failing to generate sufficient revenue to honor its investment promises.

The lawsuit alleges that between its inception in 2019 and 2023, AWS Mining accumulated over $1 billion in cryptocurrency from depositors, yet only $26 million was actively traded. Attorney General James is seeking restitution and punitive damages and is advocating for a prohibition on AWS Mining, NovaTech, and the Petions doing business in New York. James has publicly stated:

“The unregulated nature of cryptocurrency platforms can pose significant risks, as demonstrated by these schemes, but New Yorkers can be reassured that we will employ all available measures to confront crypto fraud.”

Possibly Related Fraudulent Activity

At the time of report, the NovaTech website remains operational, wherein Cynthia Petion has claimed that a data breach resulted in the loss of funds, with efforts to recover said funds currently underway. It appears on platform X that the company began to report a security breach incident starting May 2023.

In the meanwhile, a South African firm also named NovaTech and utilizing the same branding as the Petions’ company, displayed Cynthia Petion’s photo on its Facebook page and was whitewashed in 2022 and 2023.

Previously, in 2018, the Petions were not implicated when the Texas State Securities Board issued an injunction against an AWS Mining crypto entity accused of similar misconduct.