New York Targets NovaTech Founders for $1.3B After Default Ruling in Crypto Fraud Case

New York Attorney General Letitia James is asking a court to order the founders of the crypto platform NovaTech to pay about $1.3 billion, a figure that combines damages with the return of allegedly ill-gotten gains. The request targets Cynthia and Eddie Petions, who left the United States after a default judgment was entered against them in August 2025.

The enforcement effort has also reached several people who helped market the schemes. Four leading promoters, Frantz Ciceron, James Corbett, Ricardo Roy, Sr., and Martin Zizi, have agreed to settlements totaling nearly $6 million. Each is permanently barred from working in securities, commodities and cryptocurrency businesses.

How the alleged scheme worked

The case began in June 2024, when the attorney general sued NovaTechFX and AWS Mining Pty Ltd. The state alleges that both companies pitched investments to immigrant communities, especially Haitian New Yorkers, through prayer groups, social media platforms and WhatsApp chats, often using Haitian Creole advertising and faith-based messages.

According to the complaint, AWS Mining promised monthly gains of 15% to 20% and returns of 200% within 15 months, while paying recruitment bonuses to people who brought in new investors. The complaint says the company's actual returns were too small to cover those payouts, and the business collapsed in 2019. The Petions then allegedly launched NovaTech, which advertised weekly gains of roughly 2% to 4%, falsely presented itself as a registered broker, and assured investors they could withdraw funds at any time.

Prosecutors say more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency flowed into NovaTech between 2019 and 2023, but less than $26 million was actually traded before the platform failed in May 2023. Tens of thousands of investors lost access to their assets, and the state says more than 11,000 New Yorkers were defrauded.

Legal findings and next steps

The motion follows an August 2025 default order that found the defendants jointly and severally liable for violations of the Martin Act, New York's broad securities law, as well as for operating illegal chain distribution schemes. Because the defendants did not contest the case, the court's order now serves as the basis for the monetary demand.

In a statement, the attorney general said the operators had presented a pyramid scheme as a safe investment and had targeted communities that trusted them. Her office said it will keep pursuing unregistered cryptocurrency dealers. No court has yet ruled on the new $1.3 billion request.