A NovaTech FX investor has filed a RICO class-action within the Southern District of New York.
Plaintiff Avis Mullins cites himself as a New York resident and “investor of NovaTech FX”.
Named defendants in Mullins’ proposed class-action are:
- Cynthia Petion, co-founder and CEO of NovaTech FX
- Eddy Petion, husband of Cynthia Petion and co-founder and COO of NovaTech FX
- Ricardo Roy, Cynthia Petion’s brother and CTO of NovaTech FX
- Debora Brasil (aka Debora Brazil), a Florida resident, President of NovaTech FX and “Cynthia Petion’s advisor”
- NovaTech LTD, a St. Vincent and Grenadines shell firm
- NovaTech FX, the MLM crypto Ponzi scheme run by way of NovaTech LTD
- NovaTech Advisors LLC, a Florida firm owned by Cynthia and Eddy Petion
- Nova Pay LLC, a Florida firm owned by Cynthia and Eddy Petion and Ricardo Roy
- NovaTrading OU – Estonian shell firm owned by Cynthia and Eddy Petion
- Frantz Ciceron, New York resident, CEO of Ciceron Frantz & Associates Inc. and Senior Director promoter of NovaTech FX
- Frantz Ciceron & Associates, a New York firm alleged to have laundered NovaTech FX investor funds
- Jean Martin Zizi, Georgia resident and Senior Director promoter of NovaTech FX
- Travis Bieberitz, a Tennessee resident, NovaTech FX promoter and “serial promote of Ponzi scheme[s]”
- Bob Saint Louis, a Lengthy Island resident and NovaTech FX promoter
- John Garofano, a NovaTech FX promoter
- Paul J. DeRenzo, a Pennsylvania resident and NovaTech FX promoter
- James Gorbett [sic], a Senior Director promoter of NovaTech FX
Mullins’ proposed class-action was initially filed on February fifth. An Amended class-action Criticism was filed on February seventh.
As alleged by Mullins, every of the person NovaTech FX Defendants
- straight participated within the administration of NovaTech FX and was straight concerned within the day-to-day operation of the corporate on the highest ranges;
- was aware of confidential proprietary info in regards to the Firm and its enterprise operations;
- was straight or not directly concerned in drafting, producing, reviewing and/or disseminating false and deceptive statements and data;
- was straight or not directly concerned within the oversight or implementation of the Firm’s inner controls;
- was conscious of or recklessly disregarded the truth that the false and deceptive statements had been being issued in regards to the Firm; and/or
- accredited or ratified these statements in violation of federal securities legal guidelines;
- knew this was a fraud and deliberately participated in it;
- knew that this was a Ponzi scheme, and that the cash paid to buyers weren’t from funding in cryptocurrency, however cash from new buyers; and
- knew that neither Cynthia Petion nor Eddy Petion had a license from any related authority to sale [sic] securities
On the state degree, Mullins alleges particular fraud allegations in Washington, Wisconsin and California.
With respect to the named particular person promoters of NovaTech FX, Mullins alleges Jean Martin Zizi held in-person NovaTech FX promo occasions in Lengthy Island.
Zizi purportedly promoted NovaTech FX by way of his firm Trinity of Success, concentrating on “people who find themselves unsophisticated and [k]new little or no about cryptocurrency”.
Bob Saint Louis, cited as a “self-titled Christian pastor” and Baptist minister, promoted NovaTech FX along with his spouse Sophia Saint Louis (collectively, proper).
The husband-and-wife pair labored along with different Defendants to recruit buyers beneath them.
In or about 2022, the Saint-Louises, grew to become senior administrators of Novatech, having recruited greater than a thousand folks.
They joined Defendant Zizi and held a number of giant public conferences at inns in New York Metropolis for the aim of recruiting and defrauding members of the category.
Frantz Ciceron (proper) is alleged to have
joined the Ponzi scheme, figuring out that Novatech was a Ponzi scheme designed to defraud buyers who knew little or no about cryptocurrency.
Mullins accuses Ciceron of concentrating on the Haitian American group in Brooklyn.
Paul DeRenzo is cited as being “in control of recruitment of [NovaTech FX investors] in Pennsylvania.
[DeRenzo] knew that Novatech was a Ponzi scheme and took part within the crime as a result of [DeRenzo] obtained a proportion of the cash invested.
DeRenzo (proper) is one other serial Ponzi fraud offender.
Along with being personally named in Wisconsin’s regulatory motion in opposition to NovaTech FX, DeRenzo was named in Wisconsin’s latest “international fraud scheme” stop and desist in opposition to GSPartners.
John Garofano is cited as a scammer shilling Ponzi schemes on YouTube for the previous two years.
James Gorbett is once more cited as a NovaTech FX promoter who “knew that NovaTech wa sa Ponzi scheme designed to defraud buyers of their cash”.
I couldn’t discover a “James Gorbett” tied to NovaTech however did come throughout “World Ambassador” James Corbett.
I imagine that is the person referenced in Mullins’ grievance with a misspelt surname.
Travis Bieberitz is alleged to have joined Novatech FX in 2019. I used to be capable of affirm his standing as a “serial promoter of Ponzi scheme[s].”
Mullins once more accuses Bieberitz (proper) of concentrating on “people who find themselves unsophisticated and know very nothing about funding in cryptocurrency”.
Bieberitz, assured potential buyers that in contrast to the funding that he had promoted up to now, Novatech was neither a rip-off nor a Ponzi Scheme, and that buyers might be assured that the nameless people managing Novatech would by no means “pull the rug” and steal buyers’ funds.
Though she’s primarily cited as being a part of company and near Cynthia Petion, Debora Brazil can also be accused of personally recruiting “a number of a whole lot of individuals” into NovaTech FX.
Cynthia Petion’s brother, Ricardo Roy, is cited as “the architect of the Ponzi scheme, designing the pc system that studies the faux returns.”
Roy (proper) can also be claimed to have been “in control of the administrators and the Senior administrators of Novatech.”
If accredited, Mullins’ proposed class covers all NovaTech FX victims who signed up and invested between January 2019 and December 2023.
Particular causes of motion alleged in opposition to the NovaTech FX Defendants throughout twenty-five counts embody:
- Conduct or Participation in a RICO Enterprise by way of a Sample of Racketeering Exercise
- Acquisition and Upkeep of an Curiosity in and Management of an Enterprise Engaged in a Sample of Racketeering Exercise
- Use of Revenue Derived from a Sample of Racketeering Exercise within the Operation of an Enterprise Engaged in Actions Which Have an effect on Interstate or Overseas Commerce
- Conspiracy to Have interaction in a Sample of Racketeering Exercise
- Breach of Contract
- Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Religion and Truthful Dealing
- Unjust Enrichment
- Conversion / Theft / Embezzlement
- fraud
- Intentional Misrepresentation
- Civil Conspiracy
- Use of Revenue Derived from a Sample of Racketeering Exercise within the Operation of an Enterprise beneath New York Organized Crime Management Act Article 460
- Conduct or Participation in an Enterprise by way of a Sample of Racketeering Exercise beneath the New York Crime Managed (RICO) Act, Article 460
- Acquisition and Upkeep of an Curiosity in or Management over any Enterprise beneath New York Crime Managed Act of 1986
- Conspiracy to Violate the Provisions of Article 460 et seq., of New York Crime Management Act
- Intentional Infliction of Emotional Misery
- Negligent Infliction of Emotional Misery
- a number of violations of The Trade Act
Of be aware is NovaTech FX collapsed in February 2023. The Petions went into hiding in late 2022 and haven’t been seen in public since.
I’ve heard rumblings they fled to Haiti however haven’t seen something definitive.
What stays unclear is how Mullins intends to serve the Petions with the class-action grievance.
Different irregularities I famous with Mullins’ Criticism embody quite a few spelling errors and improper formatting.
Requested aid, for instance, is sandwiched in between acknowledged causes of motion. A unilevel staff graphic from BehindMLM can also be included in Mullins Criticism with out attribution.
Presumably this implies, a minimum of in some half, Mullins’ lawyer used BehindMLM to analysis NovaTech FX. This isn’t credited anyplace within the Criticism (sometimes sources are cited as footnotes).
The case docket notes a number of points with Mullins’ authentic grievance, together with misspelling of celebration names. Except there’s a “James Gorbett” I couldn’t discover, celebration names are nonetheless misspelt in Mullins’ revised February seventh Amended Criticism submitting.
It additionally seems that Mullins’ lawyer made a requirement for $200 billion when submitting the unique grievance. This was corrected to $9.9 million by the court docket clerk on February sixth.
Whereas NovaTech FX was completely a Ponzi scheme and the Petions and promoters ought to be dropped at justice, I’m getting a little bit of a query mark vibe over the longevity of this go well with.
Nonetheless I’ve added Mullins’ proposed class-action to BehindMLM’s calendar. Keep tuned for updates as we proceed to trace the case.