Children do homework at the orphanage in Venkatapuram.Nathan VanderKlippe/The Globe and Mail, A boy stands near bunkbeds at the orphanage.Nathan VanderKlippe/The Globe and Mail. The monthly payments have gotten so high that he has quit trying. Gerald Cotten, head of the Quadriga cryptocurrency exchange, and his wife Jennifer Robertson came here on their honeymoon before Mr. Cotten died.Nathan VanderKlippe/The Globe and Mail. Mr. Cotten and Ms. Robertson checked in at 6:10 p.m. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. He was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at 24 and lived with the condition without much difficulty for six years. Mr. Cotten had vomited 10 times, reported 15 episodes of watery stools, had experienced crampy abdominal pain and some back discomfort, was feverish and had a background of Crohns disease, according to a death report prepared by Dr. Sharma. Gerald Cotten didnt just cause investors to lose millions he deceived his wife, Jennifer Robertson for years. We only learned it was suspicious when media started asking questions.. Mr. Cottens body was embalmed in Jaipur, placed into a casket and flown to New Delhi, then to Toronto and finally to Halifax, where a funeral was held, according to Ms. Robertson. The report notes the couple frequently travelled to vacation destinations via private jets and acquired assets worth approximately $12-million, including 16 properties in Nova Scotia, a boat, an airplane and luxury vehicles. Cotten was the only one with access to necessary permissions. In India, meanwhile, even the couples act of charity has left questions and financial pain. After his wife, Jennifer Robertson, announced his death on Facebook in January 2019, conspiracy theories quickly began circulating amongst Quadriga users who believed Cotten wasnt dead at all, and had in fact pulled an exit scam: faked his own death and dropped off the map, taking the money theyd put into Quadriga with him. WebAccording to the film, Cotten was embalmed in the anatomy department of a Jaipur medical college, no autopsy was done and the body got shipped back to Canada. Unknown to him, the Angel House donation came from a Canadian cryptocurrency entrepreneur. The only catch: only Gerry knew the passwords to the companys crypto-vaults. He and his wife, Jennifer Robertson, jetted all over the world on private planes, visiting chic locales in Paris, Hawaii, and Morocco. The interior was spartan, but spotless. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? The Oberoi offers a chance not just to imagine a historic life of opulence, but to relive it, with service worthy of monarchs and 13-hectare grounds deliberately established at a remove from the city. Mr. Cotten spent the night in a private room, where Ms. Robertson also stayed. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Obituary | Gerald Michael Cotten of Anoka, Minnesota | Thurston In December of 2018, the jet-setting crypto couple headed to India for their honeymoon, where Mr Cotten died of complications from Crohns disease, 12 days after modifying his will. The closed-casket funeral took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Details emerging about Gerald Cotten, the young founder of No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Metro Animal Shelter. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. They are lovely, she wrote. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/215863416/gerald-lane-cotten. Ernst & Young said a significant amount of fiat currency was transferred to both Mr. Cotten and his widow. Its pretty much money by people for people.. She left them at the Oberoi with instructions that they be shipped to the orphanage. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Before Quadriga: How shady ventures in Gerald Cottens youth Jennifer Robertson, the widow of QuadrigaCX founder Gerald Cotten, sits on the bench she had made as a memorial to her late husband at their favourite spot in Mount Uniacke, N.S. After that, we dont need any other documents, Mr. Singh said. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Some information may no longer be current. Based on whats in the report, it was a fraud, said Evan Thomas, a Toronto-based lawyer at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP who works with cryptocurrency companies. Learn more about managing a memorial . In her book, Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal and the Missing Millions, Robertson recalls people close to Cotten panicking and asking for her late husband's Quadriga passwords in the wake of his death. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, A lost password, a sudden death and $180M in missing crypto, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Get up to 10% off using the Booking.com app, 50 off over 650 using this Expedia discount code, 50 cash with friend referrals at Virgin Mobile, 15% off extra plans with this Vodafone promo, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK April 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this April, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. He was a native of Meadville, MS, and a resident of Livingston, LA. Mr. Schletz said in a telephone interview that he was reluctant to speak about his deceased friend. This is where, on Dec. 13, Rama Rao Cherukupalli had erected a tent for a grand opening ceremony outside a small new concrete building, painted mint green with orange trim. Failed to delete flower. Dr. Abhishek Sharma, the general manager of the hospital, told VanderKlippe that Cotten was admitted with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis. He proceeded to vomit repeatedly and suffered diarrhea not unusual symptoms for travelers in India. in Debert, N.S., a dont-blink-or-youll-miss-it farming community about 100 kilometres northwest of Halifax. The facility includes a museum, with a sign reading "ANATOMY WELCOMES YOU" in bones. Robertson and Gerald Cotten were in a relationship for several years, prior to their October 2018 marriage. WebGerald Cotten was just 15 when he first began his lucrative scheme in an online forum called TalkGold, convincing his investors they would enjoy returns of up to 150 percent in two days. I like this place, said Mounika, 13, in hesitant English. 2005 Branch Mr. Sharma, the hotels general manager, did not respond to a request for comment on the hotels involvement. Mr. Cottens money, however, did not buy an orphanage. As mentioned earlier, Cotten died from Crohn's disease while honeymooning in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Still, for Ms. Robertson, the existence of Jennifer Robertson & Gerald Cotten House seems to have provided some solace. Children do homework at the orphanage in Venkatapuram. Arriving here they were, for a moment, a modern-day king and queen, the latest adventure for a couple whose lives were studded with signs of affluence. Neighbours described how, in recent years, Mr. Cottens dark-blue Lexus would occasionally appear in his parents driveway. The death, and the resulting collapse of Quadriga, set off a score of government and citizen investigations into how so much digital currency could be spirited away. Ms. Sibley next attempted to text Mr. Cotten in mid-December. In their letter to the RCMP the law firm underlined the need for certainty around the question of whether Mr Cotten is in fact deceased. When Gerald Cotten and Jennifer Robertson made plans to honeymoon in Jaipur, India, last December, they had a lot to look forward to. Investigations into the firm revealed that Mr Cotten made numerous fake accounts on Quadriga to influence trades on the platform, at one time being involved personally in 87 per cent of transactions. Early the next day, representatives of Angel House, a California-based charity that has built 191 orphanages in India, planned to pick them up in a Toyota Innova and drive them east, passing the entrance to Ramoji Film City, the worlds largest studio, past rice paddies with egrets and water buffalo perhaps even past a colourful religious procession with transgender dancers offering praise to the Hindu goddess Poleramma. He was basically using our money to fund his lifestyle, said Ali Mousavi, a Quadriga user based in Vancouver. WebIn December of 2018, the jet-setting crypto couple headed to India for their honeymoon, where Mr Cotten died of complications from Crohns disease, 12 days after modifying his will. At the time [9][11], On October 8, 2019, Robertson returned $12 million CAD to Quadriga, from her husband's estate. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. My apologies for any extra burden Ive placed on you. But financially, I have gone under. Family members linked to this person will appear here. [4], After Cotten's death, Robertson inherited millions of dollars in real estate holdings. They also found a substantial amount of money was used to fund a lavish lifestyle for the couple, including the use of private jets and luxury vehicles. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. He was resuscitated, but his blood pressure was low, and he was placed on a ventilator. Mr. Kneer serves on the official committee that represents Quadriga users in the court proceedings. We dont call them orphans. At public embalming operations, police are often present, she said. Ms. Robertsons lawyer declined to comment. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. It helps me feel better knowing my husband helped these children before he died., With reporting by Tripta Narang and Joe Castaldo and files from Stephanie Chambers. She later explained: "I hadn't understood how Quadriga had held money in the first place; I thought it was just a trade. This is where Mr. Cotten parked the plane he bought in 2017. Wayne was born July 1, 1946, in Tuscaloosa, AL to Buck and Lois Smith. Ive somewhat overextended myself. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. New revelations that the late founder of defunct cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX moved customer funds to personal accounts and made risky trades provide the strongest evidence yet that the operation was a fraud, industry experts say. Medical experts told The Globe and Mail that Cottens symptoms and rapid decline suggest he had a perforated bowel, which can cause extremely sudden death. Mr. Singh is the station house officer for Jawahar Circle, the district in which the hospital is located. There is a clear lesson here that having a single person owning this information creates a huge vulnerability.. There is a problem with your email/password. Theyre still waiting. Just months before his death, his parents were excitedly heading off to Scotland for a celebration of their sons wedding, one said. Its not the first project to dig into the mystery: Journalists Aaron Lammer and Lane Brown investigated the story for two years for their podcast Exit Scam, and Vanity Fair published an extensive investigation in 2019. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Mr Cottens story is now the subject of the documentary Dead Mans Switch: A Crypto Mystery, which streams on Discovery+, and in the new memoir of wife Jennifer Robertson, Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal and the Missing Millions. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King is the latest true-crime documentary to hit Netflix and fans of The Tinder Swindler, Inventing Anna, and Bad Vegan will not want to miss it. Cryptocurrency investors locked out of $190m after exchange founder dies, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. She insisted and continues to insist, that she did not know the passwords to any of Cotten's technology or the accounts he owned. Mr. Cherukupalli is a Christian pastor who began to care for local orphans two years ago, buying a tract of land and erecting a temporary shelter. It was one of the only games in town [for crypto enthusiasts], Sheona McDonald, who directed the film, told The New York Post. Gerald Mr. Cottens body was embalmed in Jaipur, placed into a casket and flown to New Delhi, then to Toronto and finally to Halifax, where a funeral was held, according to Ms. Robertson. So far, only about $46 million has been recovered. Promise not to tell anybody. Ms. Robertson did not specify why her husbands death had to be kept secret. And Cottens funeral had been closed-casket. Club and Elks Lodge. Ive seen Gerry walk through an airport with $50,000 in cash. To many, it seemed implausible that Robertson could have lived with Cotten for years without knowing something about how his business worked. Cotten signed his will on Nov. 27, 2018 -- less than two weeks before he died at a private hospital in Jaipur, the capital and largest city in the northern Indian state of "At that point, we were desperate to recover funds and we were also convinced that a scam was underway," said QCX-INT, an individual who uncovered online documentation of Mr Cottens history of fraudulent behaviour, speaking anonymously to the CBC this year. The self-professed lifelong travellers had recently been married, and the couple told the hotel they were coming to celebrate their nuptials in the Pink City, where marvels of historical architecture and riches collide with the pell-mell of life in modern India. He was able to keep the venture, called S&S Investments, going for three months, before it folded and investors money was gone. His wife didnt complain. One of them was Simmi Mehra, who works out of an office deep inside the cement corridors of Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Hospital, where she heads the anatomy department. Find the obituary of Gerald J. Baumgartner (1945 - 2023) from Clearwater, MN. All rights reserved. Twenty-four hours later, he was dead in mysterious circumstances taking valuable secrets and cryptocurrency passwords with him to the grave. Drag images here or select from your computer for Gerald Lane Cotten memorial. Mr. Cotten and Ms. Robertson planned to leave Jaipur for Hyderabad on Dec. 12 and spend the night at the ITC Kohenur, a five-star hotel overlooking a lake in the southern city, which has become a high-tech metropolis. A memorial service will be held Saturday, November 15, 2014 at 11 am at Cotten Funeral Home chapel. He has also yet to receive the stuffed bears that Ms. Robertson had brought for the grand opening. I couldnt find him. Gerald Patrick Hobbins, age 89, passed peacefully on February 1, 2022. This is what we know about how he lived and how his final day unfolded. GREAT NEWS! Asked by the hotel to specify if they were travelling for a special occasion, she wrote: Our honeymoon.. Heritage Chapel Funeral Home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has provided funeral and cremation services to residents in Tuscaloosa, Northport and West Alabama since 1925. He was the only one who knew where the company stored its cryptocurrency reserves and the passwords to access them, according to an affidavit filed by his widow, Jennifer Robertson. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. They wound up at the Fortis Escorts Hospital, a private hospital that offered superior medical service to most of Indias public hospitals. The club operates out of a building at the end of 44 Spitfire Rd. Still, he did confirm that Mr. Cotten rarely flew the plane. She recounts an episode of a soldier who arrived covered in bruises including on his toes which she saw as evidence of torture. Gregory Azeff, a Toronto-based lawyer at Miller Thomson LLP who represents the affected users, said he expects that between $35-million and $40-million will be available for distribution, but the payout to individual users depends on how many claims are filed. Gerald Indian authorities allowed his body to be embalmed and flown back to Canada for a closed-casket funeral. The crypto entrepreneur bought increasingly lavish purchases: a $600,000 yacht, a high-end Lexus, 17 homes in Canada, a plane. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. It was a very natural case. She landed in Toronto and flew back to Halifax on Dec. 11, where a funeral service was held on Dec. 14. Meanwhile, U.S. authorities are conducting an investigation into Quadriga. Thanks for your help! Cotten had allegedly told his wife he would create a mechanism that would allow her to access all of his crypto-related passwords should he die but he never did. Fortis, located behind a high wall along a tree-lined street, is a more modern operation. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. It essentially removes the need for a central authority. at the time Canadas largest cryptocurrency exchange, Gerald Cotten, 30, died in questionable circumstances, Canadian company founder took crucial password to the grave. Also, while it is a serious ailment, Crohn's disease is unlikely to cause death if appropriately treated. I tried to track him down for months. The Subject Of Netflix's 'The Nurse' Denies Her Attempted Murder Convictions, Allan Gore Reportedly Lives A Quiet Life Decades After The Events Of 'Love & Death', The True Story Of Candy Montgomery From HBO Max's True Crime Series, Heres Everything Coming To & Leaving Netflix In May 2023, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. Cotten didnt have time to enjoy the resort, though: He was feeling sick upon his arrival and would be dead within 24 hours. [7][8][9][10], In April 2019, Robertson voluntarily agreed not to sell or transfer any of her assets. Mr. Cotten's childhood home in Belleville, Ont.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail, The antiques store in Belleville operated by Mr. Cotten's parents sits shuttered.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail. Mr. Mousavi, 29, had about $71,000 tied up with Quadriga, which includes his life savings and loans he took out to invest in cryptocurrency. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. You can always change this later in your Account settings. An image posted to Instagram shows the couple beaming at the Taj Mahal in Agra, one of the countrys best-known attractions. As a result, Cotten died with over CA$250 million [$200 million] in his Quadriga accounts. [12], Robertson said she was not involved in how her husband managed Quadriga, and had initially assumed her inheritance came from "legitimately earned profits, salary and dividends. But by the time his death was registered, Ms. Robertson was long gone. But if the handling of Mr. Cottens body was unusual, Jaipur police see no reason to believe anything out of the ordinary took place, said Mr. Srivastava, the police commissioner. He died in India 12 days after modifying his will, his wife didnt announce the death for 36 days, few saw the body and it was a closed-casket funeral. Year should not be greater than current year. Mr Patryn pled guilty in 2005 to working in an identity fraud ring, and did business under a company called Midas Gold as an intermediary with Liberty Reserve, a Costa Rican digital currency firm busted as one of the largest money laundering operations in history. Sign up today. In mid-January, she sent an e-mail to Angel House, saying she hoped she could still visit the orphanage one day and acknowledging receipt of some pictures from Venkatapuram. There are shots from more than a dozen countries, including a market in Oman, pagodas in Myanmar and a beachfront resort in the Maldives, often with the hashtag #luxurytravel. In Venkatapuram, the asphalt gives way to a road of granulated cinder blocks impassable by car. Oops, something didn't work. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. But Mr. Cottens body, she was told, was in the hands of the hotel, and some time on Dec. 10, a hotel representative arrived at her office. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. This article was published more than 3 years ago. In December 2019, investors were clamoring for Cottens body to be exhumed in order to verify the cause of death. Others spend as many as three days at the orphanages their dollars have built. Dr. Chauhan did not see the body. We are not sure about the diagnosis, he said. A person who answered the phone said it was inappropriate for a journalist to be asking questions about what happened. He is survived by his daughters, Maria Paz (Ramon) and Marcela Lopez (Juan); sister, Donna Darby; nieces and nephews, Wendi Montgomery (Tim), Karen Hallum, Steve Bryant Darby, Rita Broughton (Donny) Tammie Colburn (Paul), and Buck Smith (Renee); and grandchildren, Juan Josue Gomez, Isai Caleb Gomez, Sherlyn Vasquez, and Diego Vasquez. Some information may no longer be current. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. You may request to transfer up to 250,000 memorials managed by Find a Grave. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Cotten had allegedly told his wife he would create a mechanism that would allow her to access all of his crypto-related Online, however, the couple left signs of a jet-set lifestyle. Cotten was young, energetic, passionate about cryptocurrency so when he passed away in December 2018 during his honeymoon in India, due to complications from Crohns disease, everyone was taken by surprise. He was buried five days after passing away. Dr. Sharma listed the cause as sudden cardiac arrest stemming from a perforation. Thats the scale of money the guy had. At 2:45 p.m., Mr. Cotten went into cardiac arrest. (His wife says he is in fact dead and witnessed his funeral). ). Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to I would like to see substantial proof of his death," said Kevin Brown, a resident of Saint John who lost $15,000. Little is known about Ms. Robertson, who appears to have used three different surnames since she began buying real estate in Nova Scotia with Mr. Cotten in 2016. During the defense's cross-examination of E. Jean Carroll, Trump's attorney asked the writer why she "did not scream" when she was "supposedly raped.". Obituary for Gerald Lane CottenGerald Lane Cotten, age 67, passed away on September 19, 2020. What happened to him is a mystery with profound consequences, not only for users whose life savings hang in the balance, but also for the future of Canadas trade in digital currencies, an unregulated industry whose lack of investor protections has been exposed in ghastly fashion by Mr. Cottens passing. Almost as soon as they arrived at the Oberoi Rajvilas, however, they left to seek medical care for Cotten. Now, his demise has left his company and industry in turmoil. He was involved in the Moose Lodge, V.F.W. On an Instagram account that appears to have been operated by Ms. Robertson, she describes herself as a travel addict and globetrotter, noting she has visited 35 countries.