Lauren CasperA NovaTech FX investor has filed a RICO class action in the Southern District of New York. Plaintiff Avis Mullins cites himself as a New York resident and “investor of NovaTech FX.
The multistate law firm Morris Legal has launched a class action lawsuit against NovaTech, Ltd. and several individuals in New York, alleging a large-scale Ponzi scheme. The lawsuit, seeking $2.3 billion in damages, was filed in the Federal Court of the Southern District of New York.
The case, “Mullins v. Novatech, Cynthia Petion, Martin Jean Zizi, et al.” (Case Number 1:24-CV-00824), has been assigned to a former federal prosecutor.
Morris Legal alleges that the defendants willfully constructed a Ponzi scheme to defraud millions of investors of over two billion dollars.
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 company
- NovaTech FX, the MLM crypto Ponzi scheme run through NovaTech LTD
- NovaTech Advisors LLC, a Florida company owned by Cynthia and Eddy Petion
- Nova Pay LLC, a Florida company owned by Cynthia and Eddy Petion and Ricardo Roy
- NovaTrading OU – Estonian shell company 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 company 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 Long 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 originally filed on February 5th. An Amended class action Complaint was filed on February 7th.
As alleged by Mullins, each of the individual NovaTech FX Defendants
- directly participated in the management of NovaTech FX and was directly involved in the day-to-day operation of the company at the highest levels;
- was privy to confidential proprietary information concerning the Company and its business operations;
- was directly or indirectly involved in drafting, producing, reviewing and/or disseminating false and misleading statements and information;
- was directly or indirectly involved in the oversight or implementation of the Company’s internal controls;
- was aware of or recklessly disregarded the fact that the false and misleading statements were being issued concerning the Company; and/or
- approved or ratified these statements in violation of federal securities laws;
- knew this was a fraud and intentionally participated in it;
- knew that this was a Ponzi scheme and that the money paid to investors were not from investment in cryptocurrency, but money from new investors; and
- knew that neither Cynthia Petion nor Eddy Petion had a license from any relevant authority to sale [sic] securities
At the state level, Mullins alleges specific fraud allegations in Washington, Wisconsin and California.
Concerning the named individual promoters of NovaTech FX, Mullins alleges Jean Martin Zizi held in-person NovaTech FX promo events in Long Island.
Zizi purportedly promoted NovaTech FX through his company Trinity of Success, targeting “people who are unsophisticated and [k]new very little about cryptocurrency”.
Bob Saint Louis, cited as a “self-titled Christian pastor” and Baptist minister, promoted NovaTech FX with his wife, Sophia Saint Louis (together, right).
The husband-and-wife pair worked together with other Defendants to recruit investors under them.
In or about 2022, the Saint-Louises, became senior directors of Novatech, having recruited more than a thousand people.
They joined Defendant Zizi and held several large public meetings at hotels in New York City for the purpose of recruiting and defrauding members of the class.
Frantz Ciceron is alleged to have joined the Ponzi scheme, knowing that Novatech was a Ponzi scheme designed to defraud investors who knew very little about cryptocurrency.
Mullins accuses Ciceron of targeting the Haitian American community in Brooklyn.
Paul DeRenzo is cited as “in charge of recruiting [NovaTech FX investors] in Pennsylvania.
[DeRenzo] knew that Novatech was a Ponzi scheme and participated in the crime because [DeRenzo] received a percentage of the money invested.
DeRenzo is another serial Ponzi fraud offender. In addition to being personally named in Wisconsin’s regulatory action against NovaTech FX, DeRenzo was named in Wisconsin’s recent “global fraud scheme” cease against GSPartners.
John Garofano has been cited as a scammer who has been shilling Ponzi schemes on YouTube for the past two years.
James Gorbett is again cited as a NovaTech FX promoter who “knew that NovaTech was a Ponzi scheme designed to defraud investors of their money.”
I couldn’t find a “James Gorbett” tied to NovaTech, but I did come across “Global Ambassador” James Corbett.
I believe this is the individual referenced in Mullins’ complaint with a misspelled surname.
Travis Bieberitz is alleged to have joined Novatech FX in 2019. I confirmed his status as a “serial promoter of Ponzi scheme[s].”
Mullins again accuses Bieberitz (right) of targeting “people who are unsophisticated and know very little about investing in cryptocurrency.”
Bieberitz, assured prospective investors that unlike the investment that he had promoted in the past, Novatech was neither a scam nor a Ponzi Scheme, and that investors could be confident that the anonymous individuals managing Novatech would never “pull the rug” and steal investors’ funds.
Although she’s primarily cited as being part of corporate and close to Cynthia Petion, Debora Brazil is also accused of personally recruiting “several hundreds of people” into NovaTech FX.
Cynthia Petion’s brother, Ricardo Roy, is cited as “the architect of the Ponzi scheme, designing the computer system that reports the fake returns.”
Roy claims to have been “in charge of the directors and the Senior directors of Novatech.”
If approved, Mullins’ proposed class covers all NovaTech FX victims who signed up and invested between January 2019 and December 2023.
Specific causes of action alleged against the NovaTech FX Defendants across twenty-five counts include:
- Conduct or Participation in a RICO Enterprise through a Pattern of Racketeering Activity
- Acquisition and Maintenance of an Interest in and Control of an Enterprise Engaged in a Pattern of Racketeering Activity
- Use of Income Derived from a Pattern of Racketeering Activity in the Operation of an Enterprise Engaged in Activities Which Affect Interstate or Foreign Commerce
- Conspiracy to Engage in a Pattern of Racketeering Activity
- Breach of Contract
- Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
- Unjust Enrichment
- Conversion / Theft / Embezzlement
- fraud
- Intentional Misrepresentation
- Civil Conspiracy
- Use of Income Derived from a Pattern of Racketeering Activity in the Operation of an Enterprise under New York Organized Crime Control Act Article 460
- Conduct or Participation in an Enterprise through a Pattern of Racketeering Activity under the New York Crime Controlled (RICO) Act, Article 460
- Acquisition and Maintenance of an Interest in or Control over any Enterprise under New York Crime Controlled Act of 1986
- Conspiracy to Violate the Provisions of Article 460 et seq., of New York Crime Control Act
- Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
- Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress
- multiple violations of The Exchange Act
Of note is that NovaTech FX collapsed in February 2023. The Petions went into hiding in late 2022 and haven’t been publicly seen.
I’ve heard rumblings they fled to Haiti but haven’t seen anything definitive.
How Mullins intends to serve the Petions with the class-action complaint remains unclear.
Other irregularities I noted with Mullins’ Complaint include numerous spelling errors and improper formatting.
The case docket notes multiple issues with Mullins’ original complaint, including misspelling of party names. Unless there’s a “James Gorbett” I couldn’t find, party names are still misspelled in Mullins’ revised February 7th Amended Complaint filing.
It also appears that Mullins’ attorney demanded $200 billion when filing the original complaint. The court clerk corrected this to $9.9 million on February 6th.
While NovaTech FX was a Ponzi scheme, and the Perpetrators and promoters should be brought to justice, I’m getting a bit of a question mark over the longevity of this suit.
