The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday sued the cryptocurrency company NovaTech and its married cofounders, saying they fraudulently raised more than $650 million from more than 200,000 investors worldwide, including many Haitian-Americans.

NovaTech and cofounders, Cynthia and Eddy Petion, allegedly promised investors their money would be safe, with Cynthia Petion assuring they would be “in profit from day one.”

The SEC said the Petions instead used new money mainly to repay earlier investors and pay commissions to promoters, while siphoning millions of dollars for themselves. It said the scheme lasted for four years until NovaTech’s May 2023 collapse.

Monday’s lawsuit in Miami federal court came two months after New York Attorney General Letitia James sued NovaTech and the Petions in a state court in Manhattan, estimating their fraud at more than $1 billion.

The regulators said NovaTech tried to appeal to victims’ religious faith through social media, Telegram and WhatsApp, and sometimes in the Haitian Creole language, with Cynthia Petion branding herself “Reverend CEO” and saying NovaTech was “God’s vision.”

Lawyers for NovaTech and the Petions, who are believed to live in Panama, could not immediately be identified.

Both regulators called the fraud a pyramid scheme, where companies pay bonuses or commissions to recruit new investors.

The SEC also charged six NovaTech promoters with fraud, saying they kept recruiting investors despite “red flags,” such as delayed withdrawals and U.S. and Canadian regulatory actions, which raised questions about NovaTech’s legitimacy.

One promoter, Martin Zizi, agreed to pay a $100,000 civil fine. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Both lawsuits seek restitution for victims and civil fines.

The case is SEC v Nova Tech Ltd, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, No. 24-23058.

—Jonathan Stempel, Reuters