NovaTech, founders accused in $1 billion cryptocurrency Ponzi that targeted Haitians

NEW YORK—A NovaTech founder, Eddy Petion, pretended to learn on live video that a fire had broken out at a mine in Paraguay. Another, Cynthia Petion, falsely claimed that the FBI had given them a 700-page report proving her legitimacy. Using the title “Reverend CEO,” Cynthia Petion also spoke of the mostly Haitian faithful in her cryptocurrency scheme as “a cult” willing to believe anything to become millionaires.

"When asked where the money goes... keep it vague," Cynthia Petion is recorded as saying. “They have no idea where that payment processor sends it. You can finance a housing project, buy a new car or fill your pool with bitcoins for swimming.”

After years of such behavior, on June 6, authorities officially accused the long-rumored couple of defrauding Haitians through their cryptocurrency investment platform. NovaTechFX. Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York Announced that his office filed the lawsuit after an investigation revealed that over four years, NovaTech allegedly defrauded at least 11,000 New York-based investors among hundreds of thousands worldwide, facilitating more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency transactions and only negotiated about 26 million dollars.

The defendants are Nova Tech; Cynthia Petion, CEO, and Eddy Petion, COO; and AWS Mining mainly. Others named in the lawsuit include top promoters and recruiters James Corbett, Martin Zizi and Frantz Ciceron; and several companies linked to the group: NovaTech Advisors, NovaPay, Kings Multi Services Agency, Trinity of Success and Positive Vision Marketing.

“Thousands of New Yorkers were falsely promised a better life if they simply trusted NovaTech and AWS Mining with their money, but it was all a lie,” James said in a press release. “They targeted minority communities, Haitians in particular, in prayer groups and WhatsApp group chats with ads in Creole and religious messages that appealed to their faith.”

The announcement generated new repercussions on Monday among a Haitian community that is still processing the information. EminiFX Crypto Scam led by Eddy Alexandre who defrauded at least 25,000 investors of more than 250 million dollars. He also used the religious community and Creole language spaces to recruit investors in what turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.

"People should not take advantage of our community," said Senior Pastor Sam Nicolas of Evangelical Crusade Christian Church in Brooklyn. “They should be praying for our community.

How the NovaTech scheme worked

In the NovaTech lawsuit, prosecutors say, the Petions first worked through AWS Mining, where they were the primary recruiter. The Australia-based company, which defunct in 2019, promised high returns for investors through cryptocurrency “mining,” a process by which specialized computers verify cryptocurrency transactions and generate new cryptocurrencies.

When AWS Mining collapsed, the Petions opened NovaTechFx, falsely claiming to be a hedge fund broker. They and their promoters also continued to use the name AWS Mining, this time falsely telling people that it was a real mining company that extracts minerals from the earth as a source of income. They said foreign exchange (FX) and cryptocurrency trading were other sources of income.

Corbett, Zizi and Ciceron allegedly helped the Petions recruit thousands, including Haitians in New York and New Jersey, through numerous Zoom presentations, YouTube videos, WhatsApp and Telegram group chats, emails and in-person meetings to persuade your networks in the community.

Cicero, for example, appeared in a weekly segment he had on Premiere class in Haiti Television show in 2018 and 2019. Corbett and Zizi, known as “Pastor Bob” and “Dr. Zizi,” respectively, often organized prayer groups and so-called “opportunity calls” and “university classes” in English and Creole. The Petions also held at least one event at their home in West Islip, New York, and made appearances at other venues in the area.

In total, the defendants made a series of false promises, including 2% to 4% weekly profits, 15% to 20% monthly returns, 200% returns on investments in a term of 15 months and bonuses for recruiting new investors. In reality, neither company generated enough returns to pay the promised profits and bonuses, the attorney general said. When NovaTech said it paid weekly trading profits, the funds actually came from other investors' money, prosecutors said.

Even after the markets crashed in the spring of 2022, the legal complaint alleges, the Petions kept up the charade of offering high returns on a weekly basis. Privately, they withdrew millions from NovaTech accounts, secretly sold their Florida home, and fled to Panama in June 2022.

When investors demanded to withdraw their crypto accounts, NovaTech first made up elaborate lies to cover up its fraud. They extolled “faith over fear” as a mindset to prevent investors from making withdrawals. They also told wild stories like the FBI report that Cynthia Petion said she burned herself after reading and the Paraguay mining farm fire. In this ruse to escape alleged mining contracts, prosecutors say, Eddy Petion pretended to receive a phone call, while he was on a YouTube program, telling him that one of his mining farms had caught fire.

Cynthia Petion allegedly told Zizi to flee the country as well, writing, "They can't serve you if they can't find you...lol."

Long Suspected Illegal Activity

Among at least 200,000 investors who joined until NovaTech's collapse in May 2023 were 11,000 from New York City, Westchester, Long Island and Rockland and Orange counties.

“I preach about pyramid schemes all the time,” Nicolas said, adding that he has made a presentation warning parishioners. “I tell them, 'magouyè se magouyè [scammers are scammers].”

However, people still join get-rich-quick schemes. From airline ownership to real estate investments, to fake nursing diplomas and scam du jour, cryptocurrencies, these affinity schemes flourish through trusted networks like prayer groups.

When the EminiFX case emerged, Novatech was among the few platforms that commentators said authorities should investigate. Even in cryptocurrency circles, its legitimacy was questioned.

Renold Julien, executive director of Konbit Neg Lakay, Rockland County's Haitian/American community center, told The Haitian Times on Monday that these scams have gone on for too long in the community. Julien said a Haitian couple he met told him they had invested $69,000 in Novatech and had been saving to buy a house.

"The guy, him and his wife, are crying," Julien said. “Here in Rockland County, too many people were taken advantage of. It's all they have after doing two, three, four jobs.

"I'm glad she [James] “We decided to continue the case,” he added. “This is exactly what Haitians need to understand. The more organized we are, the more results we can achieve for our people.”

Investors privately denigrated as “cults”

One notable aspect of the Novatech narrative that prosecutors laid out in the complaint is the brazen attitude of the top traders in allegedly disparaging Novatech investors for their lack of knowledge in financial matters. While calling their company a way to improve their financial situation, in private, the defendants mocked the would-be investors.

Cynthia Petion renamed herself “Reverend CEO,” called herself and her husband “the visionaries,” and proclaimed NovaTech to be “God’s vision.” In private conversations with Zizi, she called herself the “zookeeper,” her investors were “a cult,” and she rejected Zizi's suggestion that NovaTech be like a country club.

“'In a club people know what they are signing up for,” while in NovaTech “people join and still don't think… They don't think. They just agree with everything you say,'” Ms. Petion is quoted as saying.

And, although he advertises "his plans as a train toward "financial freedom" and "plantation freedom," the lawsuit dates, Cynthia Petion said: "[it’s] never those who grew up rich who invest in these programs.'

Zizi also once wrote to Cynthia Petion: "Some people will never see the vision you see at NovaTech... Focus and recruit the visionaries."

Cynthia Petion allegedly responded: “They see it when you drive by in that Bentley.”

The current whereabouts of the defendants were not immediately clear, although the Petions may be living in Panama.

A message sent through the NovatechFX site on Monday was not immediately returned. A phone number for Cicero listed online was disconnected.

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