New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking a $1.37 billion court judgment against the operators of NovaTech and its predecessor, AWS Mining, alleging that the two cryptocurrency investment schemes took more than $1 billion from hundreds of thousands of investors worldwide.
According to Bitcoin Magazine, the case concerns two connected operations that allegedly promised unusually high returns while using money from newer participants to pay earlier investors. The alleged founders, Cynthia and Eddy Petion, did not appear in court and, according to the attorney general’s office, left the country.
How the two schemes operated
AWS Mining marketed cryptocurrency mining contracts promising monthly returns of 15% to 20%, as well as a 200% return within 15 months. The operation collapsed in 2019. The Petions then launched NovaTech, presenting it as a registered hedge fund broker and promoting weekly trading returns of 2% to 4%—a rate described in the case as more than 140% annually.
The schemes were promoted extensively in Haitian and other immigrant communities. Recruitment reportedly took place through prayer groups, WhatsApp conversations and advertisements in Haitian Creole. New York Attorney General Letitia James said the operators targeted immigrant and religious communities with promises of financial improvement, while allegedly putting investors’ savings at risk.
The attorney general’s office alleges that NovaTech’s advertised trading performance was fabricated. Records from B2Broker, the provider of NovaTech’s white-label trading platform, show that investors deposited more than $1 billion between 2019 and 2023. Only about $26 million was actually traded, and those trades produced losses of $18.2 million, according to the source material.
What New York is seeking
Prosecutors allege that payments to earlier investors came from deposits made by later participants rather than from successful trading. When NovaTech collapsed in mid-2023, tens of thousands of investors were unable to withdraw their funds.
The proposed judgment includes:
- $134.5 million that Cynthia Petion allegedly transferred to wallets she solely controlled from the investor account.
- $4.7 million connected to the earlier AWS Mining operation.
- Additional amounts intended to return investor funds, bringing the requested judgment to $1.37 billion with interest.
A default judgment entered in August 2025 already prohibits the Petions and their companies from operating in the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries. Separately, four senior promoters have agreed to pay nearly $6 million in disgorgement to victims and accepted the same industry bans.
Current crypto market picture
Moneyiar market data at 08:24 on October 24, 2026, showed Bitcoin at $80,682.90, down 1.25% over 24 hours and 1.13% over seven days. Aethir was $0.0059446773, down 8.99% in 24 hours but up 3.93% over seven days. AKEDO stood at $0.0324120932, down 1.58% in 24 hours and up 5.30% over seven days. Billions Network was $0.0139971939, down 0.59% over 24 hours and up 10.04% over seven days; its seven-day figure was recorded at 01:39 on September 21, 2026.
