This year, she gave birth to a baby daughter, and is pursuing a career in elementary education. Read more to find out how Robertson and Cotten met, what happened to Robertson after his death, and where she is now. I found it extremely concerning that in the few years leading up to his passing, he got his pilots license, he learned how to opposite the biggest yacht you can have without a crew, said Jen Zegel, a trusts and estates lawyer from Kleinbard LLC, who wrote a book using Quadriga as a case study of mismanagement. Trust No One: The Hunt For The Crypto King is Netflix's latest true-crime documentary. Find out more about cryptocurrencies below.. News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. ", "I realized as much as I know, I don't know anything, and there [are] always people who know more. Jennifer Robertson is Gerry Cotten's widow. Cotten's death came after Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) froze an account controlled by QuadrigaCX with around $25 million. As investors and investigators probed what happened, they would discover the truth was wilder than what they had imagined, uncovering perhaps the biggest crypto scandal in history. According to Ernst and Young, an accounting firm appointed by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) to investigate Quadriga, Family members were expecting to receive an email with critical Quadriga operating information that is, a dead-man switch within days of Mr. Cottens passing, which would have allowed Robertson to take on management of the exchange, and return money to people who asked for it. The argument that thats what happened with Quadriga didnt pass the smell test for many in the industry who are adept at scouring the anonymous ledgers that underpin the decentralized networks for evidence of where digital coins may be stored. Gerald Cotten, a Nova Scotia resident originally from Ontario, was 30 years old when he died suddenly while travelling in India on Dec. 9 -- leaving his virtual company, QuadrigaCX, without access . Safe & Secure Dating! Jennifer Robertson has been selling assets of the late Gerald Cotten's estate, and she's allegedly shuffled some of these assets into a trust for legal protections. In his will, Cotten names Robertson executrix of his estate, as well as endowing her as its primary beneficiary. Seniors Drew Oberholtzer and Grant Burkholder led Newark's charge down the stretch in a 57-48 victory against Olentangy Liberty in the district final. A judge is scheduled to deal with a motion to appoint lawyers wholl represent Quadriga account holders at a hearing on Feb. 14 in Halifax Supreme Court, according to a court filing Wednesday. J ennifer Robertson was widowed when Cotten, the founder of QuadrigaCX, died suddenly in India in December, leaving behind a business in chaos and as much as $180 million of cryptocurrency. We could travel to exotic places.. Jennifer Robertson, the widow of the late QuadrigaCX exchange CEO, appears to be liquidating and shuffling some estate assets. The 2023 SAG Awards Will Be Streaming-Only For The First Time Ever, The Tinder Swindler Is Facing New Allegations From An Ex-Girlfriend, Heres Everything Coming To & Leaving Netflix In March 2023, Buster Murdaugh Testified For The Defense At His Fathers Double Murder Trial, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. Classes 6A, 5A and 4A continue, and 3A, 2A and 1A wrap up Saturday. The OSC concluded Cotten was effectively running a Ponzi scheme. Twelve properties are currently held by Robertson Nova Property Management Ltd., a company registered toRobertson's home address. (Courtesy of Jennifer Robertson) At first, like many wives would, she defended her husband. Hundreds of Great Singles on YourTravelMates.com Official Site. According to Robertsons account of the settlement process, she initially resisted the deals Ernst and Young proposed, but as she realized the full extent of Cottens duplicity, she realized that there was no alternative and that her assets were the byproduct of stolen property. could be sentient says Microsofts chatbot feels like watching the A cruise company is making a big play for remote workers to sail around the world for just $30,000 a year, CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King is streaming on Netflix now. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Thats how deep the deception went. Jennifer Robertson is the widow of Gerald Cotten, who died suddenly in India in December, leaving his business in chaos and as much as $180 million of cryptocurrency locked in his encrypted laptop and USB keys. They also learned that the businessman had started scamming people online at age 15, and had ties to Midas Gold, a business linked to a Costa Rican money laundering operation. On Dec.1, 2016, Nova Scotia's Royal Gazette announced she was changing her name from Jennifer Kathleen Margaret Griffith to her current name, Jennifer Kathleen Margaret Robertson. Investors were left without the cash they put in, while Cotten's widow said she had no idea he was seemingly running a crypto scam. Jennifer Robertson speaks with CTV's Your Morning, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. The FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are still ostensibly investigating the lost crypto, though there hasnt been a break in the case in years. After living the life of an international elite, she went back to working at an old bar where she was once an employee to put herself through school. Terms & Conditions. Cotten died later that same year of complications from Crohn's disease, when the couple was on a honeymoon in India. Robertson said that her new book is very clear about her mental health struggles in the hopes that her experiences will help others going through something difficult make a turnaround. Not to be transparent about where the money is exactly on a blockchain is unusual, said Christine Duhaime, a Canadian lawyer specializing in anti-money laundering. In October 2018, Jennifer Robertson was living the life of her dreams. Regulators were able to recover about $27m of customer funds, and Robertson turned over almost all of her possessions, including $12m in assets and the couples extravagant possessions, but nearly $200m remains missing or inaccessible. The timing of Cotten's death led many to question whether he really did die in India or if this is a "dead man's switch" situation, the concept of something becoming activated or deactivated if the human owner dies. It turned out that Gerald Cotten, the chief executive officer of the cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX left quite a mess after his death, which his wife Jennifer Robertson now has to deal with. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. She began recalling whole conversations with Gerry that seemed entirely fabricated in retrospect. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. CTV National News for March 3: Major storm hits Ont. Kids Family And Net Worth. Gerald 'Gerry' Cotten founded Quadriga CX, which he dubbed Canada's best Bitcoin exchange. When asked how she felt about investors turning to her for answers about their millions disappearing with her husbands death, Robertson said she felt very betrayed by him. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. She and Cotten often traveled in private jets and when they arrived at their destinations, they enjoyed the best hotels and cruises. Supposedly Gerry was the very first person Jennifer swiped right on when she started using the app. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Tong Zou, 33, lost his life savings on Quadriga, including a $200,000 gift from his parents, as he describes in the Netflix film. She is listed as itspresident, secretary and sole director. Gerald Cotten lied to thousands of investors in his crypto exchange, and deceived his wife Jennifer Robertson, a new book claims. Jennifer Kathleen Margaret Robertson(born 1988 as Jennifer Griffith[2][1]) is a Canadianreal estate developer best known as the heir and widow of the CEO of the controversial QuadrigaCXcryptocurrencyexchange. Ernst & Young was able to track down several cold wallets which were thought to be holding over C$230 million ($184 million) worth of cryptocurrency in early March 2019, but all of them were empty. However, things took a turn as the business matured. Girls basketball sectional finals, boys basketball regional finals and state team wrestling highlight Saturday's high school sports action. By the time Quadriga folded, it owed its approximately 76,000 investors $215m, and Ms Robertson realised, along with thousands of people, she had been deceived on an extraordinary scale. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. British documentary and TV director Luke Sewell helmed the movie. Moreover, 6 Bitcoin wallets of the exchange turned out to be completely empty. "I want to share my story so it doesnt happen to other people," he told Sky News in March. People occasionally make off-colour jokes about Gerry and Quadriga, but shes also gotten a lot of positive messages of support, too. According to the Netflix documentary, Trust No One, at least 110,000 Quadriga users were affected. Now, most of those tied to the Quadriga scandal are left only with their questions, regrets, and warnings. She now has a hard time trusting people. The things that we shared Ill never know. . Gerry was. QuadrigaCX founder's widow owns $7.5M in Nova Scotia real estate | CBC News Loaded. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Robertson, who married Cotten in June 2018, agreed yesterday to return about C$12 million of assets to Quadriga as part of a voluntary settlement, which still requires court approval. She splits her time between working as a waitress and studying for her teaching qualification. I truly think it was Gerrys cover, she said. She'll get . "The timing didnt make sense to me, he told Sky. Jennifer Robertson, Cottens widow, said her husband moved most of the digital assets to cold storage, and experts she brought in to try to hack into his other computers and mobile phone met with only limited success. Attempts to circumvent an encrypted USB key have been foiled, she said in the court filing. (AP/Rick Bowmer). She began receiving death threats, as people thought she was on in the scheme, which she denies. This lack of registration facilitated Cotten's ability to commit a large-scale fraud without detection. Back in 2018, 30-year-old Cotten took a trip to India with his now widow Jennifer Robertson for their honeymoon and to open an orphanage. The filmmaker speaks to several cryptocurrency experts in the film, in addition to reporters who covered QuadrigaCX extensively before, during and after Cotten's death, and people who were directly impacted and lost significant amounts of money. After Cotten's death, Robertson said she "made every effort to assist in the recovery of the QuadrigaCX assets for the benefit of affected users," she said Monday in an e-mailed statement provided by her lawyer. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. To me those are real big red flags that he was contemplating some potential exit where he could hide in his own place and hide in the Caribbean on a boat.. Explore new perspectives in managing and sustaining digital transformation. Follow live updates from the main event, plus Valentina Shevchenko vs Alexa Grasso and more. Jennifer Robertson was widowed whenCotten, the founder ofQuadrigaCX, died suddenly in India in December, leaving behind a business in chaos and as much as $180 million of cryptocurrency locked in his encrypted laptop and USB keys. And with him went the passwords to Quadriga's accounts, which held an estimated 190million. By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. It turned out that Gerald Cotten, the chief executive officer of the cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX left quite a mess after his death, which his wife Jennifer Robertson now has to deal with. There was also the very real material impact of what happened. In the end, I ended up losing everything. Jennifer Robertson and Gerald Cotten's wedding took place in Scotland. S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. In his will, Cotten bequeathed"any interest I may own"in the company to his"spouse's mother Carol Terry, and her spouse, Thomas Beazley.". Not only did the government not know how to police and regulation this emerging asset class, certainly the average individual didnt comprehend the true implications of owning those type of investments and the risks, she said. Nova Scotia's property registry shows Robertson, her husbandand her company bought 16 properties between May 2016 and October 2018, ranging in price from $94,000for a waterfront lot in Lunenburg County to $2.5 million for nine row houses in Bedford. Robertson did not accept the filmmaker's request to be interviewed for the film, neither did other members Cotten's family, which McDonald admits would have helped "humanize" the widow as a character in this story. Now she is telling her side of the story. A visionary leader who transformed the lives of those around him, he will be greatly missed. It was one thing to try to wrap her mind around the idea that Cotten had scammed users of Quadriga out of money; it was another to find out that he had run his first online Ponzi scheme when he was 15 years old and never stopped. Some 115,000 users had deposits at the exchange when it stopped working, according to Robertsons affidavit, filed on Jan. 31. They found he checked into a Jaipur hospital just nine days into his honeymoon due to an acute stomach ache. The Brumbies scored three tries including a penalty try to lead 25-20 at halftime and held on through a second half which often played at frantic pace in searing heat to claim an important win for an Australian team over a New Zealand opponent. With her partner, she is expecting a daughter. Canada's Globe and Mail investigated Cotten's death. 29 2022, Published 3:03 p.m. Robertson had already been briefly married. Bitcoin tokens are shown in Sandy, Utah on April 3, 2013. The pair were then enjoying their honeymoon in Jaipur, India. So it's a really interesting world, but be careful.". Robertson is listed as the companys director, president/secretary and recognized agent, according to Nova Scotia public records, with the couples former Kinross residence listed as its office. The match wasnt love at first sight: As Robertson recalled to The Globe and Mail earlier this year, she found Cotten underwhelming at first. At the same time, the patterns could mean that the exchange had set up automatic transfers to larger exchanges when its wallet balances reached a certain amount, or, alternatively, that theres some fishy business going on, Elementus founder Max Galka said. Robertson currently lives in Halifax, in Nova Scotia, with her partner and their chihuahuas Nitro and Gully. To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). "I do not want to lose sight of the fact that Gerald was a person and there was a widow left behind and a family grieving," the filmmaker said. 3 Kansas 75-59. Every single memory we had together, she said, laughs we had. Two other properties, including Cotten and Robertson's home in Fall River, have been transferred to the Seaglass Trust, which lists Robertson as a trustee. Perhaps the central argument for the ascendancy of cryptocurrency is its supposed transparency: every transaction made with bitcoin is logged on a public ledger called the blockchain, though the identity of the trader isnt always clear. Without the key to the digital accounts, it is extremely difficult to unlock the ledger and move the more than $144 million in coins Quadriga CX had stored on its exchange. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice| Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information| Ad Choices They found he checked into a Jaipur hospital just nine days into his honeymoon due to an acute stomach ache. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. Most of the homes are in metro Halifax. Cottens money allowed them to travel extensively and in high style, something Robertson loved. His death left investors locked out of their money and left Jennifer Robertson, Gerry's wife, to deal with the fallout. In December 2018, Cotten died during his honeymoon with his wife, Jennifer Robertson, in Jaipur, India . Thats what hurt so badly, she said. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, Netflixs growing library of documentaries about scam artists, Robertsons account of the settlement process. Cottens sailboat was also reportedly listed for sale for nearly $500,000 CAD, though the post has since been taken down (archived link here). He had mentioned that if anything were to happen to him, there would be this dead man switch which would provide me with all of his financial information or his parents might have got it, he said and then it never came, she said. Cottens duplicity is the subject of Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, the latest in Netflixs growing library of documentaries about scam artists. Thirty-year-old Mr Cotten passed away a year ago following . Back in 2018, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce froze the fiat accounts of the exchange and the funds on them due to the suspicious origin of this money. "It's no Tiger King, it's Canada and people like their privacy.". Robertson has always maintained she never had access to Cotten's laptop, passwords or Quadriga accounts. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end makes his hosting debut, with Kelsea Ballerini as musical guest. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Instead, Quadriga was moving Ether to larger exchanges through mid-January, Elementus said. After his wife, Jennifer Robertson, announced his death on Facebook in January 2019, conspiracy theories quickly began circulating amongst Quadriga users who believed Cotten wasn't dead at. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. The company then filed for bankruptcy in April 2019, with CA$215 million ($172 million) in liabilities and about CA$28 million ($22 million) in assets, reported by The Ottawa Citizen. I think the most misunderstood part of everything that happened was that I had something to do with Gerrys disappearance or Gerrys death, or that I hadnt cared about the investors, which is absolutely not true, Robertson said. The one amazing thing about blockchains is that anyone can audit, in essence, any company.. They bought a $600,000 yacht, a high-end Lexus, 17 homes and a private plane, all while jet-setting between Paris, Hawaii and Morocco. Others thought he may have been killed or had taken his own life. As heard in Netflix's Trust No One, in the months leading up to Cotten's death, users had been complaining about how they could not access their money and were waiting weeks to receive their funds. 2023 CoinShark Media. Quadriga investors have yet to get their money back. That's just one of the questions explored in the documentary Dead Man's Switch a crypto mystery (part of the 2021 Hot Docs festival), which takes you on a deep, but explanatory, dive into the mysterious death that left $215 million dollars in cash and cryptocurrency missing. But in February 2018, his new wife Jennifer Robertson said he died during their honeymoon in India. Were some of the best moments of my life absolutely fake?. Sometimes when people pass away, they leave their family not only with grief, but also with multiple financial issues. Back in 2018, 30-year-old Cotten took a trip to India with his now widow Jennifer Robertson for their honeymoon and to open an orphanage. That person, what he did to everybody else, what he did to me, I dont understand it.. The man lives across the street from a five-bedroom home that was . Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. In the film, the question arises of whether a mechanism was setup where, for example, if someone doesn't put their password in for 30 days, the private keys can be sent to someone else. Use of this Website assumes acceptance of Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy | Accessibility, Published Thursday, January 20, 2022 8:49AM EST, Last Updated Thursday, January 20, 2022 10:06AM EST, 'Chances are basically zero' of recovering some Bitcoin passwords worth millions: cryptocurrency firm, Widow of QuadrigaCX founder to hand over most assets in settlement, FBI reaching out to users of defunct cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX, QuadrigaCX cryptocurrency exchange officially placed in bankruptcy, An insider's view of the Quadriga meltdown: 'It's kinda devastating', Lawyer says QuadrigaCX is out of money: 'We don't have anything', Fraser Health orders review after patient left bleeding overnight in hallway, Why some Canadian teachers and professors are inviting ChatGPT into the classroom, Missing northern Ontario plane found, no survivors, UN seeks Canadian help for 'enormous' needs as number of refugees doubles, IN PHOTOS: Here's what Ontario looks like under 30 centimetres of snow, Canada's chief of the defence staff makes trip to Ukrainian capital. The ACT Brumbies clung to a five-point lead through all of the second half to beat the Auckland-based Blues 25-20 Sunday and stay unbeaten after two rounds of Super Rugby Pacific. I decided to write this book because I wanted to be able to have a platform where I could say exactly what I wanted to say, and the media wouldnt be able to twist it, Robertson said of Bitcoin widow: Love, Betrayal & The Missing Millions. I also had a lot of grief and things I had to work through so I had to make sure that I was ready to write the book and have it be published.. Three years later, audiences are wondering what actually happened to QuadrigaCX and if it is still operating today. The person that has been reported on, I dont love that person, I hate that person. Traduo Context Corretor Sinnimos Conjugao. A computer issue wiped $14m of Ethereum cryptocurrency off the exchange. We could buy a house in Nova Scotia, another in British Columbia, even our own island with a yacht not just a sailboat to get us there. Doris Maria Bregolisse/ Global Okanagan. Newsweek Newsletter sign-up > They married four years later in October 2018, living a. She started dabbling in cryptocurrency with QuadrigaCX and saw the notice that Cotten had passed away and everything was frozen. Jennifer Robertson and in January 2019, Quadriga . Jennifer Robertson's new memoir details life with her now-deceased husband, Gerald Cotten and the years-long deception he orchestrated on Quadriga's customers - and on her It is just appalling to me. The Cottens home was filled with piles and piles of loose cash, which Gerry claimed was a consequence of supposedly discriminatory banks who didnt yet understand crypto and refused to work with them. Founded in 2014, Quadriga was for a time Canadas largest cryptocurrency exchange platform, and grew rapidly as digital assets became more mainstream, handling more than $1bn in its third years. 7 Texas beat No. After spending a few years out of the spotlight, shes emerged to tell her story in full in her memoir Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal and the Missing Millions, coauthored with Stephen Kimber. Blockchain is a decentralised technology spread across computers that manages and records transactions. More than three years after the sudden death of Quadriga CEO Gerald Cotten and the revelations that the company was a massive cryptocurrency scam, his widow,. After his death, online trolls harassed Robertson so aggressively that she had to change her phone number and email address, shut down her social media accounts, and temporarily move into a safe house. All Rights Reserved. Bitcoin Magazine could not independently validate that the trust exists. Robertson isnt under investigation or facing any criminal charges. She still thinks about her husband when she hears a song they both liked, or looks at old photos. In an excerpt from Bitcoin Widow, published in The Walrus, Robertson writes, I wont lie: I loved being rich. (Candace Berry. The move comes after some holders asked the courts to have Bennett Jones LLP and McInnes Cooper represent them during the CCAA proceedings. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Seperti banyak orang lain di industri ini, Gerry Cotten merancang bisnisnya tidak hanya sebagai For other inquiries, Contact Us. The company didnt even have an official bank account, processing payments through third parties or Cottens own laptop. Snow Funeral Home in Halifax. Cotten was proclaimed dead within 24 hours of their arrival in India, therefore the honeymoon was short-lived. [4] The charity tells donors they can build a 12-child home like this one from . The filmmaker also lost a little bit of money when she was "messing around" with cryptocurrency, and admits that she fell into many of traps that she was warned about. It threw us and Quadriga into absolute chaos, he affected so many lives and he hurt so many people., Robertson said dealing with the conspiracy theories about her husband faking his death have been difficult., I saw him die, I brought his body back to Halifax with me from India and there have been numerous people who have seen his body, including his mother and his father, she continued. She also didnt know what Bitcoin was, so she wasnt exactly bowled over by him telling her than he ran a Bitcoin exchange. In his will, Cotten dictated that his shares in the company are to be jointly shared between Robertsons mother Carol Terry and her spouse Thomas Beazley. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes.