New York Seeks $1.37B From NovaTech Founders

NovaTech’s $1.37 billion request includes interest

The affirmation supporting monetary relief, filed October 22 as NYSCEF document 134, requests $1,134,549,691 in principal plus $232,473,894 in interest for NovaTech. That produces a total of $1,367,023,585.

The filing separately requests $1,455,666 for AWS Mining and $4,694,712 from Cynthia Petion over that scheme, including interest. The headline NovaTech amount should therefore not be read as the combined total for every claim.

State lawyers describe an August 4, 2025 default order establishing liability and directing that monetary amounts be determined through written submissions. The October document asks the court to set those amounts; it is not a receipt for recovered assets.

The requested award is not an independently verified count of unique victims or their individual net losses.

That limitation affects how a recovery headline should be understood. A requested award, a settlement obligation, a collected payment and a distribution to an investor are separate milestones. Only the last establishes that a particular victim has received money back.

NovaTech promoter agreements approach $6 million

The four stated promoter amounts total $5,975,861: Martin Zizi, $2.9 million; Frantz Ciceron, $2.05 million; James Corbett, $750,000; and Ricardo Roy Sr., $275,861. James’s office said the resolutions also permanently ban the four from the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries.

The Corbett settlement document illustrates why those obligations should not be equated with an immediate payout. It sets $200,000 in scheduled installments through 2030, beginning in April 2027. The remaining $550,000 is tied to income provisions, including an $80,000 annual threshold.

For income above that threshold, the document calls for 35% of the excess to go toward the judgment. It also provides for interest and collection measures. The face value alone therefore does not establish when the entire obligation will be satisfied.

Nor are all four agreements newly signed this week. Zizi’s published stipulation is dated November 2025 and lists four $725,000 installments during 2026. Roy’s assurance dates to June 2024 and requires payment within seven days of its effective date.

The October release brings these resolutions together. Their different dates and terms make the distinction between an enforcement announcement and a current cash balance especially relevant.

NovaTech victims face separate state and federal cases

New York’s original June 2024 allegations described recruitment through prayer groups, social media and WhatsApp, including Haitian Creole advertising. The state said NovaTech promised weekly returns of about 2% to 4% and ready access to deposits.

The SEC’s separate August 2024 enforcement announcement alleged more than $650 million raised from over 200,000 investors worldwide. Federal regulators said most money went to existing investors and promoter commissions, while only a fraction went into trading.

Those figures concern overlapping conduct measured in different proceedings. Adding the SEC’s fundraising allegation to New York’s requested damages would misstate the available evidence. Neither announcement supplies a basis for treating them as separate pools of stolen funds.

The recruitment mechanism also explains the prominence of community ties. Investor.gov’s guidance on group-targeted investment scams describes how promoters exploit trust within religious or other communities. Respected intermediaries can themselves become victims, making a familiar recommendation an unreliable substitute for checking the investment.

Other proceedings, including the HyperFund guilty plea involving Bitcoin Rodney, show why the legal stage needs to accompany the dollar figure. A criminal plea, a civil default and a negotiated settlement establish different things.

Alternative.me’s sentiment index stood at 51, or neutral, when checked October 24. The measure concerns market sentiment and says nothing about NovaTech victims’ recovery prospects.

The next concrete development is the court’s determination of monetary relief, followed by evidence of collection and distribution. The reviewed materials do not establish that the new $1.367 billion request has been granted or provide a completed victim-payment total.