NEW YORK — New York is pursuing approximately $1.37 billion from Novatech founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion following a state court's default judgment in a crypto fraud case. Attorney General Letitia James has requested the court order the Petions to pay $1.135 billion in disgorgement and $232.5 million in prejudgment interest, totaling $1.367 billion.

The default judgment was entered in August 2025 after the defendants failed to appear in court. The attorney general's office said the couple fled the country to avoid legal proceedings.

Novatech operated as a Ponzi scheme, prosecutors said. The platform promised investors weekly crypto trading returns of roughly 2 percent to 4 percent. Instead, the operation used new incoming deposits to fund withdrawals for earlier investors and to pay recruitment rewards.

On-chain data from court documents exposes the gap. Between August 2019 and May 2023, investors sent $1.1605 billion in cryptocurrency to Novatech's Coinpayments wallet. Only $25.99 million was ever deposited with B2Broker for trading activities. Of that minimal amount, Novatech's traders lost about $18.19 million. The figures directly contradict Novatech's claims that investor returns came from successful crypto and forex trading. No legitimate trading profits existed to support the promised returns.

Wallet flows reveal personal enrichment. Cynthia Petion authorized at least $134.5 million in cryptocurrency withdrawals from Novatech's Coinpayments account, directing the funds to wallets belonging to herself and Eddy Petion.

The fraud targeted vulnerable communities. More than 11,000 New Yorkers invested in Novatech and its predecessor, the AWS mining operation. Haitian and other immigrant communities were specifically recruited through prayer groups, social media, and WhatsApp chats.

New York has already secured settlements with four top promoters of Novatech. Martin Zizi, Frantz Ciceron, Ricardo Roy Sr. and James Corbett collectively agreed to pay nearly $6 million. They also accepted permanent bans from participating in the securities, commodities, and cryptocurrency industries.

The $1.37 billion claim against the Petions represents one of the largest monetary recoveries sought in a crypto investment scheme.