New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed for approximately $1.37 billion in damages against Cynthia and Eddy Petion, the founders of the collapsed crypto platform NovaTech. The request follows an August 2025 default judgment issued after the couple fled the United States and failed to respond to the state’s lawsuit, which originally began in June 2024.
In addition to pursuing the founders, the attorney general announced settlements with four top promoters who agreed to pay nearly $6 million to benefit victims. These promoters are permanently banned from participating in the securities, commodities, and crypto industries as part of the resolution regarding the scheme that targeted over 11,000 New York investors.
Key facts
- The New York AG is seeking about $1.37 billion in damages, disgorgement, and interest from NovaTech founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion.
- Four promoters settled for nearly $6 million and received permanent bans from the securities, commodities, and crypto sectors.
- The scheme allegedly defrauded investors by targeting Haitian communities through prayer groups, social media, and WhatsApp chats.
- NovaTech falsely advertised weekly returns of 2% to 4% while using new investor deposits to fund payouts and recruiting bonuses.
- Data indicates investors deposited roughly $1.16 billion into NovaTech’s wallet between August 2019 and May 2023.
Why it matters
The state alleges that tens of thousands of investors were unable to withdraw their funds when NovaTech collapsed in 2023, resulting in the loss of life savings for many within immigrant and religious communities.