Following the death of a crypto CEO in 2018, there has always been a huge question mark amongst investors surrounding his mysterious passing.
Gerald Cotten was the 30-year-old founder of cryptocurrency trading platform Quadriga CX who reportedly died from complications of Crohn's Disease while on his honeymoon in India.
The question marks surrounding his death have come from various angles, with the first being that the company kept his death a secret a month before announcing it.
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More significantly, however, his wife, Jennifer Robertson, revealed that her late husband was the only person who had the password to access investor funds.
If you add in the fact that Cotten's business partner, Michael Patryn, was a convicted white collar criminal, things start looking shady.
Patryn, who changed his name at least twice, was convicted in the US for being part of an identity theft ring, which lead him to a 18 month prison sentence before being deported back to Canada.
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Due to those suspicious circumstances, some believe that Cotten faked his death and ran away with the millions.
Notably, four days prior to the incident, he had completed a will which left all of his assets to his wife, including $9 million in real estate, a Lexus, Cessna plane and yacht, according to the Daily Mail.
In its June 2020 report, the Ontario Securities Commission revealed that around 76,000 investors lost at least $124.2 million (C$169 million) from the collapse of Quadriga in 2019.
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It turns out that after his death, the platform owed approximately C$215 million to clients, according to the commission.
Sheona McDonald is the director of new documentary, Dead Man’s Switch: A Crypto Mystery, and she explained how investors were initially drawn into the platform.
She told the New York Post: “It was one of the only games in town [for crypto enthusiasts].
“You transferred them $1,000 and you could see the crypto in your account. I think there were a couple years when it ran legitimately.
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"I don’t think Gerry could have imagined a future with money pouring in the way it eventually did.”
Vancouver was the perfect place for their alleged scam, says David Gerard, who authored Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Ethereum & Smart Contracts.
He said: "Canada is notorious for having a lot of nice, trustworthy people — and a buttload of others who exploit them.
"Gerry, the front man in the operation, was a very charming fellow and Bitcoin fans are gullible.
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"Talk to them about the future of money, throw in a few buzz words and they believe any garbage."
Gerard alleged that Cotten was nothing more than an old-fashioned embezzler with a modern angle: “He co-mingled customer funds and company funds. He dipped into customers’ money [to fuel his lifestyle].”
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/DecentralTopics: Cryptocurrency