New York AG Letitia James seeks $1.37 billion from NovaTech founders who defrauded investors, primarily in Haitian communities.
New York Attorney General Targets Crypto Scammers
New York Attorney General Letitia James is pursuing nearly $1.4 billion from the founders of the defunct crypto trading platform NovaTech, Cynthia and Eddy Petion, who have reportedly fled the United States. The lawsuit was filed in response to their alleged fraudulent activities that defrauded investors, primarily from Haitian communities, out of more than $1 billion.
In a recent court filing, James requested a judgment for approximately $1.37 billion in damages, disgorgement, and interest from the Petions and their associated companies. This action follows a default judgment issued in August 2025, after the Petions failed to respond to the state’s lawsuit and left the country.
Additionally, four prominent promoters of the scheme—Martin Zizi, Frantz Ciceron, Ricardo Roy Sr., and James Corbett—have agreed to pay nearly $6 million to compensate victims and are now permanently barred from participating in the securities, commodities, and crypto industries.
James initially filed the lawsuit against NovaTech and AWS Mining in June 2024, alleging that they misled investors with promises of high returns, including weekly payouts of 2% to 4%. However, investigations revealed that NovaTech had lost significant amounts of the funds it received, with only about $26 million allocated to trading, leading to substantial losses.
According to the Attorney General’s office, the Petions exploited immigrant and religious communities by promoting their scheme through prayer groups and social media, specifically targeting Haitian New Yorkers. Over 11,000 investors from New York alone were drawn into the fraudulent scheme, which ultimately collapsed in 2023, preventing many from withdrawing their investments. The state is now seeking approximately $1.13 billion in disgorgement and $232 million in interest, highlighting the severity of the financial losses incurred by investors.
“These scammers targeted immigrant and religious communities with the promise of a better life but instead robbed them of their life savings,” James stated.
