Jennifer Robertson
Born1988 (age 35–36)[1]
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada[1]
NationalityCanadian
Other namesJennifer Kathleen Margaret Robertson
Jennifer Griffith[1][2]
Jennifer Forgeron[1][2]
OccupationReal estate developer
Known forInherited an insolvent cryptocurrency exchange
Spouse
Gerald Cotten
​
​
(m. 2018; died 2018)​

Jennifer Kathleen Margaret Robertson (born Jennifer Griffith, 1988)[2][1] is a Canadian real estate developer, best known as the heir and widow of the CEO of the controversial QuadrigaCX cryptocurrency exchange.

Robertson and Gerald Cotten were in a relationship for several years, prior to their October 2018 marriage.[3] In December 2018, they were on a trip to India to sponsor an orphanage when Cotten suffered severe intestinal distress related to his chronic Crohn's disease.[4] Although he was given hospital care, his condition worsened, and, allegedly, he died less than a day after admission.[5]

The India Times reported that limited funds had been made available to build the Jennifer Robertson and Gerald Cotten House; this claim proved to be false by the charity, Angel House and the orphanage was open and operational.[4]

After Cotten's death, Robertson inherited millions of dollars in real estate holdings.[6]

Approximately a month after Cotten's death Robertson informed shareholders that, although she had consulted computer security experts that the funds her husband had been managing were in "cold storage", and his files did not contain encryption keys required to manage them.[7][8][9][10]

In April 2019, Robertson voluntarily agreed not to sell or transfer any of her assets.[9][11]

On October 8, 2019, Robertson returned $12 million CAD to Quadriga, from her husband's estate.[3][11][12][13] Bloomberg News described this as a voluntary settlement. It listed the assets she was keeping, which included her wedding band, her personal vehicle, her personal retirement savings fund, and $90,000 cash.[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."[12]

Robertson has written a book, Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal and the Missing Millions, with Stephen Kimber, about her relationship with Cotten and the collapse of Quadriga.[14][15] Bitcoin Widow was the No. 6 best-seller in non-fiction in Canada for the week ending 26 January 2022[16] and No 6 in Canadian non-fiction for the week ending 16 February 2022[17] in the Toronto Star, and No. 8 non-fiction in Canada, No. 3 Canadian non-fiction and No. 1 in Biography for the week ending 29 January 2022 in the Globe and Mail.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Andrea Gunn (February 8, 2019). "QuadrigaCX founder left $9.8m in personal property, over a million in Nova Scotia". The Chronicle Herald (Halifax, Nova Scotia). Not much is known about Robertson outside of what's come out in court documents regarding her relation to the Quadriga case, but it seems she has changed her name at least three times. A Nova Scotia Royal Gazette entry from 2017 shows that she changed her name from Jennifer Griffith to Jennifer Robertson in late 2016. The short entry also says she was born in Halifax in 1988, making her the same age as Cotten. Legal property documents also list her as formerly Jennifer Forgeron, but it's not clear when that name change occurred.
  2. 1 2 3 Nathaniel Rich (November 22, 2019). "Ponzi Schemes, Private Yachts, and a Missing $250 Million in Crypto: The Strange Tale of Quadriga". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-01-20. Robertson was also not her birth name; she had gone from her given name, Griffith, to Forgeron and then back, following an earlier marriage and its dissolution, before finally landing on Robertson in 2016.
  3. 1 2 Doug Alexander (2019-10-08). "Quadriga Founder's Finances Add to Mystery of Missing Millions". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2019-11-27. Robertson, who married Cotten in June 2018, agreed yesterday to return about C$12 million of assets to Quadriga as part of a voluntary settlement, which still requires court approval. She'll get to keep about C$90,000 in cash, a C$20,000 retirement savings plan, a 2015 Jeep Cherokee, her wedding band, some personal furnishings and Quadriga shares.
  4. 1 2 Rohan Abraham (2019-04-10). "A crypto millionaire, loose ends & a dead end: A consignment of teddy bears before Gerald Cotten died". India Times. Archived from the original on 2019-05-19. Retrieved 2019-05-22. Pastor Cherukupalli Rama Rao has been waiting for four months for a dozen odd beady-eyed teddy bears to reach the six children under his charge at the Angel House India home in Venkatapuram village, Mudigona, Telangana.
  5. ↑ "Lawyers want cryptocurrency Quadriga founder exhumed". BBC News. 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  6. ↑ Rafael Augusto (2019-03-17). "QuadrigaCX Founder's Widow Inherits Millions in Real Estate". 71 Republic. Archived from the original on 2019-09-27. Retrieved 2019-09-26. Jennifer, also known as the QuadrigaCX widow, has roughly 7.5 million Canadian dollars in real estate property. Yes, you heard that right.
  7. ↑ Andrea Gunn (2019-02-14). "QuadrigaCX CEO's wife questioned over access to bitcoins". Halifax Chronicle-Herald. Archived from the original on 2019-09-11. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  8. ↑ Andrea Gunn (2019-02-19). "Two law firms appointed to represent QuadrigaCX users through crypotcurrency recovery". Halifax Chronicle-Herald. Archived from the original on 2019-09-27. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  9. 1 2 Michael MacDonald (2019-08-29). "RCMP, FBI two of four agencies investigating former crypto exchange Quadriga". Global News. Archived from the original on 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2019-09-26. Earlier this year, the court issued a so-called asset preservation order to prevent Robertson from selling about $12 million in assets belonging to her or Cotten's estate. Those assets include properties in Nova Scotia and British Columbia, a small aircraft, "luxury vehicles," a sailboat, investments, cash and gold and silver coins.
  10. ↑ "Case of defunct QuadrigaCX cryptocurrency exchange could shift to Toronto court". Red Deer Advocate. 2019-08-29. Archived from the original on 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2019-10-08. Meanwhile, Ernst and Young confirmed it is talking to lawyers representing Cotten's widow, Jennifer Robertson, regarding the sale of personal assets that were purchased with Quadriga funds.
  11. 1 2 Jennifer Robertson (2019-10-04). "Jennifer Robertson Statement - October, 2019 4131-5813-7374 v.2". Retrieved 2019-10-08. As a result of the Monitor's investigation, I have agreed to return to QCX assets that I had previously thought were purchased with Gerry's legitimately earned profits, salary and dividends. I was upset and disappointed with Gerry's activities as uncovered by the investigation when I first learned of them, and continue to be as we conclude this settlement.
  12. 1 2 3 Doug Alexander (2019-10-08). "Quadriga CEO's widow to return $12M of estate assets". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 2019-10-08. Retrieved 2019-10-08. "I have now entered into a voluntary settlement agreement where the vast majority of my assets and all of the estate's assets are being returned to QCX to benefit the affected users," she said. "These assets originally came from QCX at the direction of Gerry."
  13. ↑ Jack Julian (2019-11-08). "Settlement allows QuadrigaCX founder's widow to keep $90K in cash, wedding ring, Jeep". CBC News. Retrieved 2019-11-27. Jennifer Robertson, the widow of QuadrigaCX founder Gerald (Gerry) Cotten, will be allowed to keep more than $90,000 cash and a Jeep Cherokee in a settlement agreement with the company's bankruptcy trustee.
  14. ↑ "Quadriga CEO's widow speaks out over his death and the missing crypto millions". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  15. ↑ Castaldo, Joe; Posadzki, Alexandra (15 January 2022). "Widow of Quadriga crypto founder Gerald Cotten says she had no idea about the $215-million scam". Theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  16. ↑ "The bestselling books in Canada for the week ending Jan. 26, 2022". Toronto Star. 26 January 2022.
  17. ↑ "The bestselling books in Canada for the week ending Feb. 16, 2022". Toronto Star. 16 February 2022.
  18. ↑ "The Globe and Mail Bestsellers for the week of Jan. 29, 2022". The Globe and Mail. 28 January 2022. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022.
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