The problem, as far as Quadrigas customers were concerned, was how the monitor planned to disburse the initial tranche of the money. Let us also find out about the whereabouts of the famous QuadrigaCX founders widow. Our money or violence your choice jen, declared one sender, who appeared to have experienced losses in the Quadriga debacle and blamed me. Kimberly mentioned being angry at the revelation because the family had gone out of their way to defend him. Without being able to read her mind, its impossible to really know what happened. I know some were just venting, but others seemed deadly serious. I was like a moth being drawn to the flame and then consumed by it. Among the facts that smelled to her: our recent marriage. I couldnt. As for Kimberly, she seems to be based out of Dartmouth in Nova Scotia, Canada. In fact, his profile was the first one she swiped right to. Jennifer Robertson and Gerald Cottens wedding took place in Scotland. Gerald Cotten, 30, was the CEO of QuadricaCX, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Canada which defaulted last year following his death while abroad with his wife Jennifer Robertson. That didnt stop the press from writing stories featuring a version of me I barely recognized. The Globe and Mail tracked down one of Gerrys subcontractorspart of a network of entities that helped move millions of dollars around so Quadriga could take deposits and facilitate withdrawals, sometimes in the form of physical bank drafts, for its clientsto a rundown, vinyl-sided trailer in rural New Brunswick rented to Aaron Matthews, one of Gerrys payment processors, and his wife. And what about the next person who found out I was that woman? . Its goal is to create strategies that fulfill journalisms basic pledge: to serve society with a truthful, intelligent and comprehensive account of ideas and events. One night, at the urging of friends, she swiped right on Tinderand met the love of her life. We need you now more than ever. The downside of hot wallets is that, because theyre connected to the internet, theyre vulnerable to hackers. Quadriga CX, once the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in Canada, was founded by Gerald Cotten. Had I loved a bad person? The Trust Project is a collaboration among news organizations around the world. Gerald Cotten's gambling before his death, rather than a fake death enabling an exit scam, seems to be why Quadriga's cold wallets were empty. Robertson herself admits that she saw her marriage through rose-coloured [sic] glasses, but those glasses were forcibly removed after Cottens untimely death in India. They acquired property, bought yachts and planes, travelled to exotic destinations. I had to change my phone number, shut down all my social media accounts, even get a new email address. The first commercial Bitcoin transaction took place in 2010, when a computer programmer in Florida bought two Papa Johns pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoins. If he hadnt died, I kept telling myself, Gerry would have been able to solve Quadrigas cash-flow problems, open the cold wallets, ensure that the companys investors got what they were owed, and make everything right with our world again. An investigation later found out that Gerry had, Jennifer Robertson, was embroiled in the ensuing legal controversy. So far, Ernst and Young had recovered only $32 million in cash, much of it the formerly frozen CIBC funds. Updated 8:49, Apr. mode: 'thumbnails-rr', But its value continued to increase exponentially, if erratically, as Bitcoin was discovered by all manner of investors, from curious financial dabblers to anti-establishment activists and even criminals who found the byzantine world of cryptocurrency an irresistible and convenient means to mask their black market transactions. Jennifer Robertson was struggling with the fallout from a messy divorce and juggling weekend waitressing gigs to make ends meet. There is no doubt that Cottens death saddened his family and close ones. Contribute. The two first met in November 2014 and had been together for some time before tying the knot in October 2018. Earlier this year, she published her memoir, Bitcoin Widow, mentioned above. Or Robertson had murdered Cotten and was the real mastermind of a different plot. Hot wallets are connected to the internet and can be used by investors to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency with other users in real time. Bob Robertson and Linda Cullen are her parents. The media dragged Gerald Cotten's wife, Jennifer Robertson, into the spotlight after his mysterious death. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey once a supporter of Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of the site is now offering sharp criticism of the new owner and his handling of the deal. container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-3rd', Moreover, Patrick Robertson is her brothers name, and she refuses to discuss her biological mother. It took me longer than many others to appreciate the extent of Gerrys deceit. Overnight, their dream life became Robertsons worst nightmare. She was also raised in a wealthy family. In April 2019, Robertson voluntarily agreed not to sell or transfer any of her assets. But the biggest single payout listed was a $300,000 repayment of shareholder advances. That was to repay me for the amount Id agreed to put up from my personal accounts to cover costs associated with the companys initial creditor protection. 05 Feb, 2019, 11:45 AM IST. Why did you buy this? Jennifer Robertson speaks with CTV's Your Morning, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. Shug McGaugheys Son: Following in His Fathers Footsteps ? In less than a decade, cryptocurrency had grown exponentially in popularity, attracting all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons. The pair were then enjoying their honeymoon in Jaipur, India. On March 5, 2019, the lawyers all trooped back into court in Halifax for a hearing on Quadrigas request for a forty-five-day extension of its creditor protection while the monitor continued to try to sort out where the money had gone. What if Gerry really had been a bad person? I so badly wanted Gerry to obviously be alive, one because he is my husband and two because he could sort this all out or provide answers, so when the world is screaming hes still alive, and you know that hes not, it can be difficult to deal with that when youre grieving., Speaking about when the Ontario Securities Commission determined that Cotten was basically running a Ponzi scheme and Robertson was forced to hand over the majority of the assets left to her in her husbands will, which was signed two weeks before his death, Robertson said she lost her home but just had to keep pushing forward.. At the time, I was holding close to $12 million in properties, cash, and other assets on my own behalf and as Gerrys executor. In fact, it appeared as though the Bitcoins the wallets tracked had been transferred out in the months before Gerry died. But, after he died, I had to learn quickly. I was ready to write an ending to this chapter of my life. The monitor said it had found one Quadriga account in a Canadian credit union containing $245,000. The truth is, I still knew very little about Quadriga or how Bitcoin worked. Meet Elena And Andrea Eduardo Preziosi, Wife And Net Worth. No one knew where to find $215 million belonging to more than 76,000 investors. I tried to square the benign man I had known and loved with the shady scam artist described in the media. The reality was that wed be negotiating not only with the bankruptcy trustee but also with a committee representing those described as Quadrigas affected userscheated investors who, understandably, wanted to claw back every penny Gerry had ever taken out of Quadriga. So I didnt worry. Jennifer Robertson is a well-known Canadian Actress, comedian, and writer who has made several film and television appearances. ets hope that the public will get some clarity surrounding the allegations and rumors surrounding her late husband from her book. Likewise, the public was not much intrigued about their lives up until Geralds name got tainted by him being a fraud. So far, only four of the exchanges had responded, and only one of those had confirmed that it held even minimal cryptocurrency on behalf of Quadriga. _taboola.push({ Days Trial Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Throughout the film, the crypto investors who lost money through the Quadriga exchange in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars express their conviction that Robertson must have been in on Cottens scam, that she may have killed him, or even that she killed her previous husband (who is, in fact, alive and well). And Gerry was great at making trades. Part of me felt as though our life together had been a dream, the best dream you could ever imagine, and now it was time to wake up. The truth was that I still loved Gerry. I dont understand Bitcoin. The charity tells donors they can build a 12-child home like this one from . Everything was going well until the press released the news of his death. However, Jennifer had claimed in her court documents that she had. Over the next four years, as his company, QuadrigaCX, expanded exponentially, Cotten and Robertson, twentysomethings in love, became wealthy beyond their wildest imaginings. When Quadriga informed its users, on January 15, that Cotten had succumbed to Crohn's disase while in India to open an orphanage, more bad news was to follow.Around a fortnight later, his widow Jennifer Robertson would inform a . I decided to propose a financial settlement I believed would be enough to satisfy Quadrigas creditors while -allowing me to press reset. I had no intention of parting with any of those assets. He had a job to do: find out what had happened to the money and then recover as much of it as possible for Quadrigas customers. Unfortunately, the honeymoon was short-lived, and Cotten was declared dead within 24 hours of their arrival in India. He often spoke at financial-technology conferences, was a member of the Bitcoin Foundation, and served as an adviser for a nonprofit called the CryptoCurrency Certification Consortium. I still found it difficultthough no longer impossibleto believe Gerry might have intentionally done something wrong. So, this could be one of the main reasons contributing to her sudden disappearance. The pair met in 2014 on Tinder. 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. On October 7, 2019, Ernst and Young accepted a deal in which I transferred over all assets including cash, investments, vehicles, loans, and real estate. Because we could. Sometimes, in his zeal, he overreached. So we proposed that I would keep $5 million, mostly in rental properties from Robertson Novathe residential property management company I built using Gerrys capitalwhile turning over everything else to the monitor and giving up any future interest in Quadriga, including whatever the platform might ultimately sell for. Ernst and Young, appointed by the court to sort out Quadrigas financial situation, had decided it was time to shift Quadriga from creditor protection to bankruptcy proceedings. I don't recommend it. Lina is a content writer for TV Shows Stars. It was tracking another million or so in the hands of uncooperative third-party payment processors, and the move to bankruptcy would give the trustee the right to compel production of documents and seek examination of relevant parties under oath., The only other source of Quadriga funds ripe for recovery, the monitor suggested, was those assets I had believed were legitimately mine. We could travel to exotic places.. Australia? Our lives! The Walrus uses cookies for personalization, to customize its online advertisements, and for other purposes. However, the celebrity wife has vanished from the spotlight after agreeing to repay the clients for what they have lost. All the while, she says, she was trying to wrap her mind around the idea that her husband had been a scammer, and the life theyd led together was over. Facebook had been the trolls first, and perhaps easiest, avenue to track me down. TICK-TOCK, tick-tock, tick-tock. The disembodied voice at the other end of my phone line began in a singsong tone that morphed into what seemed like a death threat. Gerry had lost at least $100 million that Ernst and Young had been able to trace so far. Copyright 2017-2018 Free Articles by ecelebritymirror.com, All rights reserved. When the CEO of one of Canadas then-largest cryptocurrency exchanges QuadrigaCX suddenly died in India back in 2019, his wife Jennifer Robertsons life fell apart, according to her new book. She also didnt know what Bitcoin was, so she wasnt exactly bowled over by him telling her than he ran a Bitcoin exchange. Your Reason has been Reported to the admin. Bankruptcy would reduce costs for the company, so there would be more to distribute among Quadrigas thousands of creditors. However, no one could be more shocked than the crypto community when they later found out that Gerald was the only person with the passcodes to customer funds. Id voluntarily provided the amount from what I thought of at the time as my personal bank account, though my finances had by then become entangled with Gerrys and Quadrigas. That C$115 million "was more money than . At the beginning of that year, you could buy a single Bitcoin for $13.28 (all figures in this paragraph US). I was also still being pilloried regularly in the press and online. Fact-based journalism that sparks the Canadian conversation, My husband started a cryptocurrency empire that made us rich. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. If no one in authorityno government, no oversight body, no financial institutionseemed able to regulate the industry or protect consumers, thats because they couldnt. Now he was on the phone again with what I assumed was an update on the negotiations. On December 3, the price peaked for the year at $1,237.55 before dropping, three days later, to $697.02, a collapse of nearly 45 percent. The sudden death of Gerald Cotten in December 2018 plunged the world of cryptocurrency into chaos. Currently studies BALLB and has a passion for reading cases, documentaries, and music. This article was published over a year ago. Although the Quadriga website assured clients that all funds in the [Quadriga] system are highly liquid, and can be withdrawn at any time, the reality was that clients had no way of verifying those claims beyond taking Gerry at his word. When the 30-year . It morphed, at first slowly and then suddenly, into a torrent of doubt that became an inexorable flood of accusation and, finally, a tidal wave of irrefutable evidence that almost swallowed me whole. She splits her time between working as a waitress and studying for her teaching qualification. The account had been frozen since 2017. The reporter encountered a man on the trailers porch who insisted no one by that name lived there. Instead, suddenly, unexpectedly, almost inexplicably, a seemingly healthy thirty-year-old Cotten died in an intensive care unit in India, of complications from Crohns disease. Industry Trends on 4000+ Stocks, Get 1 Year Complimentary Subscription of TOI+ worth Rs.799/-, A crypto millionaire, loose ends & a dead end: A consignment of teddy bears before Gerald Cotten died, I don't want to see these stories because. Like much of the rest of the world, I learned about Gerrys fraud incrementally. I told Niedermayer that, if it was indeed their money and that had been proven, then they should have it. I got off the phone and tried to fit together all those puzzle pieces I hadnt been ableor willingto put into their logical places. Inscribed beneath it is: "Follow your dreams Reach for the stars Let your heart be your guide." He begrudgingly says his name is Jim. Transferred by whom? But what people did not expect was for the crypto legend to die with the only password to millions of dollars worth of digital assets. Gerald Cotten was the only person who had passwords to QuadrigaCX digital wallets . Gerald Cotten was too good to be true. He made money all the time. I was babbling. Later, she was. Heres what happened to Jennifer Robertson, the wife of the notorious Bitcoin scammer featured in Trust No One. How about you give us the location of Gerrys dogs so that we can light them on fire?. Teen gets accepted to 170 colleges, bags scholarship worth $9 mn, Jiah Khan suicide case: 'Who will give me 10 yrs of my life back?' Cotten died later that same year of complications from Crohn's disease, when the couple was on a honeymoon in India. (Candace Berry Photography) , which amounts to approximately US $195 million. In early June, the FBI announced it was trying to identify victims of Gerrys fraud to provide these victims with information, assistance services, and resources. Coindesk, a cryptocurrency news site, reported that Australian authorities had even become involved. Listen and subscribe to get a weekly update with the newsmakers who matter. Why did you do that? Jennifer Kathleen Margaret Robertson (born Jennifer Griffith, 1988) is a Canadian real estate developer, best known as the heir and widow of the CEO of the controversial QuadrigaCX cryptocurrency exchange.. Robertson and Gerald Cotten were in a relationship for several years, prior to their October 2018 marriage. People then demanded that his body be exhumed to prove he was truly dead. However, his death is much debated upon as Jennifer only notified the press of his passing one month after the incident took place. The reason for her sudden disappearance remains a mystery. In an excerpt from Bitcoin Widow, published in The Walrus, Robertson writes, I wont lie: I loved being rich. Once he meets you, hell realize that youre not capable of anything criminal. In 2017, Quadriga processed more than $1 billion (US) in trades from 363,000 individual accounts. So naturally, customers started filing lawsuits, following which The Nova Scotia Supreme Court determined that users of the exchangewere owed Canadian $260 million, which amounts to approximately US $195 million. Consequently, the public knows little about the relationship between the now-dead Gerald and his widow. Each side of each transaction earned revenue for Gerry. Roughly $200 million (Canadian) in customer funds disappeared along with him. And while she was trying to sort through her emotions, she was being harassed by people on the internet who didnt believe her husband was dead. Along with her mother, Linda, her Father was a Double Exposure comedy group member. In early April, the same Bitcoin was worth $230. Richard Niedermayer understood that my mental health depended on putting Quadriga in my rear-view mirror. Cottens money allowed them to travel extensively and in high style, something Robertson loved. Jennifer Robertson said her late husband's death "should not be . 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Well, the widow is also not active on any social media platforms, making it nearly impossible to track her current whereabouts. The match wasnt love at first sight: As Robertson recalled to The Globe and Mail earlier this year, she found Cotten underwhelming at first. Bitcoin, I learned, is a form of cryptocurrency, which exists only in digital form and can be bought and sold and valued in transactions that are beyond the control of banks or governments. Jennifer had even received death threats, and according to Kimberly, the widow had to be placed in a safe house at an undisclosed location for a while for her safety. In the documentary, we hear from her sister, Kimberly Smith, who provides some insight into Jennifers life with Gerry. With investigators unable to trace the money and the company seeking creditor protection, a firestorm of unconnected dots, incendiary innuendo, and wild speculation quickly erupted on the internet. Regardless, she must be living a comfortable life with what was left of her fortune. What followed were allegations of her husband faking his death, that she was somehow involved in what was described as a Ponzi scheme, and questions about her naivet regarding her husbands business and their previously lavish lifestyle. And, more importantly, why? It was launched in 2009 by a mysterious and perhaps fictional person (or people) operating under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. However, Gerald Cottens wife quickly intervened and assured the annoyed investors that exhuming her late husbands body would not aid in asset recovery. They had become involved with a website called TalkGold, which Vanity Fair later claimed was devoted to high-yield investment programs, or HYIPs, more commonly known as Ponzi schemes., I tried to square the benign man I had known and lovedthe smartest, funniest, kindest person Id ever met, a man who had taught me so much, the only man Id ever known who offered me unconditional love, who made me feel like his number-one person alwayswith the shady scam artist described in the media reports. Fox shares hopeful message on Parkinson's battle, Canadian Leafs fans unable to buy tickets for Florida games. In preparation for the hearing, Id had to prepare yet another affidavit on behalf of the company, recommending the appointment of a new director who could straighten out Quadrigas tangled affairs and then sell the platform to someone elseanyone elseso I could finally grieve for the man Id loved. Her mysterious disappearance has caused a commotion in the media. Help us build our profile of Gerald Cotten and Jennifer Robertson! Ernst and Young also noted that the company had been unable to locate or provide formal accounting books or financial records, and the law firm was now trying to determine whether Quadriga had ever even filed any Canadian tax returns. Learn more or change your cookie preferences. Robertson said she never suspected anything in all those years with Cotten. He had thick sweeps of strawberry-blond hair, boyish enthusiasm and the kind of sunny disposition that made people want to be around him. I deserved to be waterboarded for hours, then crucified. But not just memy father as well. Jennifer Robertson Latest Breaking News, Pictures, Videos, and Special Reports from The Economic Times. To where? Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, Netflixs growing library of documentaries about scam artists, Robertsons account of the settlement process. In the documentary, Kimberly talked about how there was no way Gerry would fake his death. Our lifestyle! 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. In April 2019, Robertson voluntarily agreed not to sell or transfer any of her assets. Jennifer Robertson, whose husband Gerald Cotten died aged 30 during their honeymoon in India in 2018, opened up about her ordeal in a new book, Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal and the Missing Millions. Instead, the value fell and kept falling. Gerry had stolen it. Perhaps, if he can put a face to the name, you can build a relationship with him.. But, of course, the more disorderly the industry became, the more susceptible it was to manipulation. But Robertson was only one of the people affected by Cottens scam: After his death, Quadriga users had lost over $200 million, which Ernst and Young attempted to recover. In December 2018, they were on a trip to India to sponsor an orphanage when . Copyright 2023 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. 2499 1749, Monthly So, in this article, let us learn about Gerald Cottens wife. I couldnt believe that. I loved not having to ask, Can I afford that? I couldwhatever it was. After a few such messages, I realized their senders were not who they claimed to be. Will Cryptocurrency Be Albertas Next Big Boom? Visibly shaking, he demands a reporter and a photographer leave the property.. Why would he? 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. placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails 2nd', Gerald Cotten was a Bitcoin entrepreneur. Niedermayer had agreed to work out the details. From vaccine misinformation to political polarization, the challenges our society is facing today are too important for half-truths. Market Research. Listen and subscribe to get a daily fix on the latest political news and issues. Jennifer Robertson was struggling with the fallout from a messy divorce and juggling weekend waitressing gigs to make ends meet. Jennifer Robertson shared a picture of herself and husband Gerald Cotten at the Taj Mahal. Explore:Alessandro Preziosi Is A Father Of Two Kids. Naturally, people started to question whether the young founder was even dead. She works for the provinces government in an administrative capacity and has been employed there for more than a decade. Nonetheless, Jennifer has authored a book. Soon, though, the pair grew close: They talked about everything and anything for hours, she told The Globe and Mail. Geralds death came as a shock and sparked an outpouring of grief. A few days beforehand, Ernst and Young had released its latest report, documenting its very limited success to date in recovering what it now estimated was $215 million in cash and cryptocurrency that Quadriga supposedly held at the time it stopped operating. In turbulent times, it is crucial that reliable media remains available to everyone. Gerald Cotten and Jennifer Robertson - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos list. Further, She has a lovely nine-year-old daughter whose Father has not yet been identified. 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. If he hadnt died, maybe none of this would have happened. She mentioned that Jennifer met Gerry on Tinder sometime before Christmas in 2014. Understanding the Horse-Human Bond: Horse Trainer William Motts Insight. Kids Family And Net Worth. He boasted that Quadriga had been the first cryptocurrency exchange in Canada to hold a money services business licence from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, the countrys antimoney laundering authority. Robertson was raised in a family that valued performing exceptionally and was heavily inspired by her parents; as a result, when she was a teenager, she decided she wanted to pursue a career as an Actor and comedian. The Walrus sparks conversations about Canada and its place in the world through our award-winning independent journalism, fact checking, events, podcasts, and content solutions. Together, we can preserve the integrity of Canadian media and ensure that our democracy thrives. I knew he was frustrated with conventional banks, which he considered anti-Bitcoin. He vented occasionally about finding some way to take Quadriga out of the banking system entirely, but my understanding was that Gerry spoke as a legitimately aggrieved party, an ahead-of-his-time cryptocurrency entrepreneur whose business was being unfairly hamstrung by risk-averse bankers who wanted to control the Bitcoin industry. Upon further investigation, it was found that Gerald had no records of any exchange of cryptocurrencies and treated his clients money as his own. We could buy a house in Nova Scotia, another in British Columbia, even our own island with a yachtnot just a sailboatto get us there. She lives in Nova Scotia. Robertson, online posters insisted, was conspiring with Cotten, whod faked his own death and was hiding in some extradition-free backwater until they could rendezvous and live happily ever after. Who was Gerry? As she tells it, Robertson was left with the mystery of her husbands real identity and personality. and had been together for some time before tying the knot in October 2018. Even if everything about Quadriga had been above board, the reality was that the company represented a much bigger problem for everyone involved. Paying a heavy price: This crypto exchange can't refund $190 mn to customers after CEO died with only password, Forbes releases first-ever crypto-rich list; Chris Larsen takes top spot with net worth of $7.5-8 bn, Would you believe this? Quadriga was Gerrys business, and that was fine with me. So, lets find out more about her then, shall we? As Robertson admitted that only her husband knew the password, he was charged with staging his death. Gerrys so smart. Shed just married her best friend, Gerald Gerry Cotten, at a ceremony in a Scottish castle; she had recently started a business managing property; and, using the money from Cottens stupendously profitable Bitcoin exchange, she and Cotten had spent that past couple years traveling the world in high style, visiting everywhere from Malta to Dubai to Morocco to Paris.

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