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On October 22, the New York State Attorney General’s office filed a motion with the court requesting a verdict totaling $1,367,023,585 against Cynthia Petion, Eddy Petion, and their companies, NovaTech and AWS Mining. The request follows the default judgment issued on August 4, 2025, which established the defendants’ liability for cryptocurrency fraud. Concurrently, Attorney General Letitia James’s office announced settlement agreements with four key promoters of the scheme.
Why it matters
The case highlights how pyramid schemes in the cryptocurrency sector can exploit informal communication channels, such as prayer groups and WhatsApp chats, to reach vulnerable communities. According to the prosecution, NovaTech and AWS Mining attracted thousands of New York investors, particularly within the Haitian community, by promising high and sustainable returns that were not real. Payments to early investors were made using funds from new arrivals, a characteristic typical of Ponzi schemes.
The numbers
Sources agree on the main amount requested: $1.37 billion (precisely $1,367,023,585 according to CryptoSlate). This sum includes principal capital calculated at $1,134,549,691 and additional interest of $232,473,894. Bitcoin Magazine reports that approximately $1.1 billion was collectively taken from investors across the two platforms involved. AWS Mining promised monthly returns between 15% and 20%, while NovaTech offered weekly gains ranging from 2% to 4%. Regarding the promoters, the total settlement amounts to approximately $6 million. Frantz Ciceron accepted a restitution obligation of $2 million, with an initial payment of $850,000 within 30 days of court execution and four annual installments of $125,000 each, scheduled from December 31, 2026, to December 31, 2029.
What remains unclear
A definitive total for individual payments to victims has not yet been established, nor is there a precise date for the distribution of funds. The Attorney General’s office clarified that the requested sums have not yet been collected or distributed. Furthermore, while documents indicate that the Petion founders left the country, there are no final judicial confirmations regarding their current legal status beyond the default judgment. Most deposit usernames cannot be reliably matched to specific individuals without the accounting ordered by the court, which the defendants did not provide.
Sources: Decrypt, Cointelegraph, Bitcoin Magazine, Unchained, CryptoSlate.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or an investment recommendation.
* Content created with the assistance of artificial intelligence systems.