New York demands $1.3 billion from the NovaTech founders who fled the country as four promoters of the crypto pyramid scheme pay nearly $6 million

New York wants $1.3 billion back from the couple behind a crypto pyramid scheme that targeted immigrant communities. Attorney General Letitia James filed a request on Thursday, October 22, 2026, asking a court to order NovaTech founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion to pay damages and disgorgement, her office announced the same day. The request also covers related companies, Cointelegraph reported, and breaks down as about $1.13 billion in disgorgement plus $232.5 million in prejudgment interest, nearly $1.37 billion in all, The Block and Cointelegraph reported from the court papers.

The court entered a default judgment against the Petions in August 2025 after they fled the country, the office said; The Block and Cointelegraph reported that they had not responded to the lawsuit. James sued NovaTech and its predecessor, AWS Mining, in June 2024.

Four leading promoters have now settled for a combined total just under $6 million and are permanently barred from the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries, per the release. James said the operators "scammed thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers by telling them they were making a safe investment."

More than 11,000 New Yorkers put money in, and the scheme hit hundreds of thousands of investors worldwide, the office said; it was pitched through prayer groups, social media and WhatsApp, with ads in Haitian Creole. Investors deposited over $1 billion in crypto between August 2019 and April 2023, but less than $26 million reached the trading platform, per the attorney general. The Block, citing the filing, said at least $134.5 million was withdrawn to wallets linked to the founders. NovaTech collapsed in May 2023.

What to watch next: the court's ruling on the $1.3 billion request. The office gave no timeline.