Prayer Groups and WhatsApp Chats: NovaTech Promoters Pay Nearly $6 Million in New York Crypto Pyramid Case

Published Oct. 23, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

The pitches came in Haitian Creole, wrapped in religious messages and shared in prayer groups and WhatsApp chats. Investors were promised steady crypto trading profits and bonuses for bringing in others. New York Attorney General Letitia James says more than 11,000 New Yorkers invested in NovaTech and the earlier AWS Mining program and lost tens of millions of dollars [1].

On Oct. 22, 2026, the attorney general's office announced settlements with four of the schemes' top promoters. Martin Zizi, Frantz Ciceron, Ricardo Roy Sr. and James Corbett will pay a combined $5.98 million in disgorgement for victims and are permanently banned from the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries. The office also asked a court to order NovaTech's founders, Cynthia and Eddy Petion, to pay $1.3 billion [1][2].

Important: This is a civil case. The settlements and default judgment described below are not criminal convictions, and the release does not say whether the promoters admitted the allegations.

How the schemes allegedly worked

According to the attorney general's office [1]:

1. AWS Mining first. AWS Mining Pty Ltd. and its promoters, including the Petions, allegedly promised 15 to 20 percent monthly returns, 200 percent returns within 15 months and bonuses for recruiting new investors. The company did not generate enough returns, if any, to pay those profits and bonuses. It collapsed in 2019.
2. Then NovaTech. After AWS Mining collapsed, the Petions started NovaTech (NovaTechFx). They advertised trading profits of about 2 to 4 percent per week and recruitment bonuses, and promised investors could withdraw funds and profits at any time.
3. Targeting faith and community. The office says NovaTech targeted minority and religious communities, especially Haitian communities. It used prayer groups and WhatsApp group chats, with ads in Haitian Creole and religious messages that appealed to investors' faith.
4. False credentials. The Petions allegedly marketed NovaTech as a registered hedge fund broker and claimed it was licensed to trade cryptocurrency in the U.S. The attorney general says both claims were false.
5. Little actual trading. From August 2019 through April 2023, investors deposited more than $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency with NovaTech. The office says less than $26 million was ever traded on its platform.
6. Collapse. When NovaTech collapsed in May 2023, tens of thousands of investors could not withdraw their crypto.

The people named and their status

The attorney general sued NovaTechFx and AWS Mining in June 2024 [1].

The four promoters: settled

The office says it settled claims against NovaTech's top promoters for false and misleading statements in selling AWS Mining contracts and NovaTech trading packages, acting as unregistered brokers and running an illegal pyramid scheme. All four are permanently banned from the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries. They will pay disgorgement to benefit victims as follows [1][2]:

• Martin Zizi: $2.9 million
• Frantz Ciceron: $2.05 million
• James Corbett: $750,000
• Ricardo Roy Sr.: $275,861

The releases do not give the promoters' ages or hometowns.

The founders: default judgment, $1.3 billion requested

Cynthia Petion and Eddy Petion, NovaTech's founders, are subject to a default judgment issued in August 2025 "after the couple fled the country," according to the attorney general. That judgment bans them from the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries. On Oct. 22, 2026, the office filed an inquest asking the court to order them to pay $1.3 billion in damages and disgorgement. The court has not ruled on that request in the sources we reviewed [1].

"These scammers targeted immigrant and religious communities with the promise of a better life but instead robbed them of their life savings," Attorney General James said [1].

Red flags

• Fixed weekly or monthly returns (2 to 4% a week, 15 to 20% a month). No legitimate trading program can promise that.
• Bonuses for recruiting friends, family or church members. Pay that comes mainly from recruitment is the mark of a pyramid scheme.
• Investment pitches spread through prayer groups or WhatsApp chats, especially in your own language and with religious messages.
• Claims of being "registered" or "licensed" that you can't check. Look up any firm or person on FINRA BrokerCheck and the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site.
• A new program from the same people after an earlier one collapsed.
• Withdrawal problems, new "fees" to get your money out, or excuses about delays.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Stop sending money, and don't recruit anyone else.
2. Save everything: WhatsApp messages, wallet addresses, deposit records and screenshots of account balances.
3. New Yorkers can file an investor complaint with the Attorney General's Investor Protection Bureau at ag.ny.gov. Others can contact their state securities regulator.
4. Report crypto fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov and to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr.
5. Beware of "recovery" offers. People who promise to get your lost crypto back for a fee are often running a second scam.

Case status (as of Oct. 23, 2026)

Person / company	Proceeding	Status	Source
Martin Zizi	NY AG civil lawsuit (filed June 2024)	Settled; $2.9M disgorgement; permanent industry ban	[1]
Frantz Ciceron	NY AG civil lawsuit	Settled; $2.05M disgorgement; permanent industry ban	[1]
James Corbett	NY AG civil lawsuit	Settled; $750,000 disgorgement; permanent industry ban	[1]
Ricardo Roy Sr.	NY AG civil lawsuit	Settled; $275,861 disgorgement; permanent industry ban	[1]
Cynthia Petion and Eddy Petion (founders)	NY AG civil lawsuit	Default judgment (Aug. 2025) with industry ban; $1.3B damages and disgorgement requested Oct. 22, 2026; ruling pending	[1]
NovaTechFx; AWS Mining Pty Ltd.	NY AG civil lawsuit	Defendants; both collapsed (AWS Mining 2019, NovaTech May 2023)	[1]

This table describes civil proceedings, not criminal charges. Statuses can change.

Sources

1. Office of the New York State Attorney General, "Attorney General James Secures Nearly $6 Million From Crypto Scammers Who Targeted Haitian Communities," Oct. 22, 2026. https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-secures-nearly-6-million-crypto-scammers-who-targeted
2. The Haitian Times, "New York secures nearly $6 million from crypto scammers who targeted Haitian communities," The Haitian Times, Oct. 22, 2026. https://haitiantimes.com/2026/10/22/new-york-crypto-scams-haitian-communities-6-million/

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