The New York Attorney General (NYAG) has filed a lawsuit against two crypto trading firms, NovaTechFx and AWS Mining Pty Ltd, as well as their founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion. The NYAG claims that these companies targeted immigrant communities, specifically Haitian New Yorkers, through prayer groups, social media, and WhatsApp, and made fraudulent promises of high investment returns.
An investigation revealed that investors had deposited over $1 billion in crypto with NovaTech, but less than $26 million was actually traded. The Attorney General, Letitia James, stated that the cryptocurrency companies falsely promised better lives to thousands of New Yorkers, but instead, they stole their money and drained their life savings.
The complaint details that AWS Mining, which allegedly claimed to generate high returns through crypto mining, failed to deliver the promised profits and collapsed in 2019. Subsequently, the Petions founded NovaTech, which also recruited new investors with promises of high returns.
Despite marketing NovaTech as a registered hedge fund broker licensed to trade crypto in the U.S., the lawsuit alleges that the company misrepresented its operations and profits. NovaTech collapsed in May 2023, leaving tens of thousands of investors unable to withdraw their crypto funds.
The NYAG is accusing the Petions of violating the Martin Act and seeks to ban AWS Mining, NovaTech, and their founders from conducting business in New York, in addition to securing disgorgement and damages.