New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a court motion seeking $1.37 billion from NovaTech founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion and related companies over the operation of a Ponzi scheme. The attorney general is requesting the return of approximately $1.13 billion in investor funds plus $232.5 million in interest.
A court found the Petions and associated companies liable by default in August 2025 after they failed to respond to the lawsuit. Four individuals who recruited investors into NovaTech have separately agreed to settlements totaling nearly $6 million intended to benefit victims.
According to the attorney general's office, more than 11,000 New Yorkers lost tens of millions of dollars through NovaTech and an earlier scheme called AWS Mining. The complaint alleges that promoters targeted Haitian and other immigrant communities through prayer groups, social media, and WhatsApp, promoting high returns and recruitment bonuses.
Court filings indicate that investors deposited approximately $1.16 billion into NovaTech's crypto wallets between August 2019 and May 2023. Of that amount, only about $26 million was deposited with the platform's trading provider, B2Broker, for actual trading.
AWS Mining, an associated crypto mining scheme, collapsed in 2019. NovaTech collapsed in 2023, leaving tens of thousands of investors unable to withdraw their funds. The attorney general filed suit against NovaTech, AWS Mining, and other associated companies in June 2024. The motion separately seeks approximately $6.15 million, including interest, over AWS Mining.
