EmpiresX’s Nicholas confirms SEC NovaTech FX investigation
EmpiresX’s Joshua Nicholas has asserted “NovaTech FX has recently been brought to justice”.
The claim, which BehindMLM has not been able to verify, was made in an April 11th court filing.
Through EmpiresX, Joshua David Nicholas worked with Emerson Pires and Flavio Goncalves to defraud consumers out of ~$100 million.
The ruse behind EmpiresX was automated trading. To that end Nicholas played “Joshua Greg”, EmpiresX’s “Master Trader”.
In addition to $3.3 million restitution and a $300,026 judgment in parallel civil proceedings brought by the SEC, Nicholas was sentenced to 51 months in prison last November.
On April 10th Nicholas filed a pro-se letter with the court requesting modification to his sentence.
In the motion, Nicholas stated;
Since being in physical custody I have continued to work with the SEC.
In fact NovaTech FX has recently been brought to justice at no benefit to me or discussion of such benefit.
The government just reached out to me weeks ago asking for additional help which I expect to provide any day now.
However, my help is significantly limited from being behind prison bars.
It is unclear what, if any, connection there is between Nicholas, EmpiresX and NovaTech FX.
While BehindMLM can’t verify Nicholas’ claim, we’ve anticipated federal action against NovaTech FX since California’s securities fraud cease and desist last November.
Wisconsin also revealed NovaTech FX securities fraud charges and a $50,000 fine earlier this month.
NovaTech FX collapsed in February 2023. Withdrawals were disabled till April 1st, after which, while re-enabled, withdrawals functionality remains severely restricted.
Nicholas’ claim suggests NovaTech FX’s ongoing withdrawal issues might be the result of the SEC and/or DOJ closing in on owners Cynthia and Eddy Petion.
The Petions, US nationals with ties to New York and Florida, have not been seen in public since late 2022.
Getting back to Nicholas’ motion, he believes there’s been a miscalculation with his sentencing.
I only played a specific function, was not involved in the planning, had limited knowledge, and I only made roughly 150 thousand compared to a cited loss amount of 40 million.
It should be noted that while the CFTC’s and SEC’s EmpiresX civil cases cite losses of around $40 million, the DOJ’s criminal case pegged EmpiresX losses at over $100 million.
How can I be sentenced under a loss of 40 million I was responsible for … when the court determined I was responsible for 3.3 million in loss?
Nicholas has requested his sentence accordingly be reduced to 24 to 30 months.
Outside of his sentencing claims, Nicholas also reveals he’s not having a great time in prison.
On my 30th day in custody I was attacked by a much larger black man (I’m a 140 lb. white guy) suffering broken ribs as a result.
Then, days later while in the SHU for no reason (I have no disciplinary infractions) another large black man tried to rape me.
Despite having prison camp custody I’m at Coleman LOW where I’m surrounded by sex offenders and child molesters who I would otherwise want to protect my children from.
I’ve maintained clear conduct as I got a job right away as Head Orderly in Education, yesterday I won the talent show, I’m working with my professors to complete a PhD, on the waitlist for UNICOR, and despite many requests for help with drug treatment I’ve received none. (While on pre-sentencing I attended AA regularly).
A longer term of imprisonment only hurts the victims more as taxpayers who lost money are now forced to pay the cost of my physical custody.
Despite my experience with the criminal justice system that appears focused on punishment and isolation, I’ve done all I can do to rehabilitate.
I don’t understand why these hardships are happening but I know that God is the true judge and as long as I keep my head up, study, and work hard I’ll come home to my fiance and two kids a stronger and better man and husband.
If nothing else – prison got me out of the fast paced life and reset my priorities.
Now, I just want out so I can demonstrate once again I can be a highly productive member of society.
On April 23rd, Nicholas’ newly appointed attorney filed a motion requesting Nicholas’ pro-ser filing be stricken.
Nicholas’ new attorney claims Nicholas’ pro-ser filing was an “unfortunate mistake”.
Nicholas switched attorneys on April 23rd, after complaining about his previous representation in his April 11th pro-ser filing.
The former attorney that prevented me from helping the government that was paid for by my co-defendants in helping them run away to Brazil leaving me holding the bag is now no longer a barred attorney.
This is because even from behind prison walls I’ve told the truth and presented evidence despite the limitations prison in placing on me to get the truth out.
The motion requesting Nicholas’ pro-ser filing be stricken was granted on April 24th.
Update 15th February 2024 – The SEC has confirmed its investigation into NovaTech FX.
“Recently brought to justice” indicates that he’s talking about Wisconsin SEC and not the federal SEC…
There is no “Wisconsin SEC” in that context. The SEC as a federal regulator will have an office in Wisonsin or a regional office nearby.
The Wisconsin NovaTech FX securities fraud fine was issued by Wisconsin’s DFI, a state-level regulator separate from the SEC (although they most certainly have open lines of communication).
The SEC wouldn’t issue a state-level fine through the DFI. DFI will have done its own investigation.
I met many people along this journey that this duo (Flavio and Emerson) left behind.
I’ve already looked for these two in more than 50 addresses, I have a lot of people after them and I’m sure that one day I’ll find one of them, then I definitely think the other!
What I actually discovered is a series of people and companies harmed by them, and our search network here in Brazil is growing!!!
As for Joshua, I prefer to believe in American justice to look at it with due attention, but by the number of victims I doubt that he “did not know or little knew”, he was part of the scheme!
I and my family in Botswana were scammed of $1000. It hurt us as we sacrificed a lot thinking we were investing for our children.
I wish I could have atleast half of our money back.
when you participate in defrauding hardworking people, no matter how minor you might think your actions were…. the egregious and negative impact is MASSIVE and devestating as well as life changing for victims of such a scam.
you and ALL those involved deserve LIFE IN PRISON.
my daughters friend invested heavy and has been in contact with them recently, they tried to get me invest.
the fact they were offshore company been involved with a bad company before, the pictures on there site raised alarm bells an unwealthy look.
saying they were preachers hmm, usa, well, not trustworthy, such are the days, people like this taking hard earned money from poor people will have there day on earth and heaven.
just to say to you all my daughters friend who is a big player in this has there personal contact details and said, they are trying to sort things out ie returning peoples money.
im not giving you falser hope , but just telling you what they have said very recently, if i hear more ill post, gl all.
Your daughter’s friend is lying. NovaTech FX has collapsed and the Petions are in hiding. It’s over.
Your daughters friend is a scammer who is helping Cynthia Petion to steal people’s money…
A year ago I was with the two of them, Emerson and Flavio, in a hotel in São Paulo, we closed the purchase by them of my company, a construction company, a franchise and an investment brokerage.
I explained dozens of times that my idea was to take my family to Florida and invest my capital there, and with a smile on their faces they said it was the best place in the world to do business!
end of the story, in september/22 they stole my money, sunk my companies and disappeared!
Since then I’ve been after them, my plans to leave Brazil have gone down the drain and I’m struggling to recover the company’s finances, pay the debts they generated and move on with my life!
Now one thing amazes me, I’m talking about a business of approximately 3 million dollars.
and I see the news that more than 100 have been stolen, and even so, I don’t see any movement, no organized group to find them! I feel like I’m alone in this fight!
The DOJ’s website comes up as the first search hit for both “Flavio Goncalves” and “Emerson Pires”. And it’s been that way since June 2022.
Yet you entered into a multi-million dollar business deal with the two of them in September 2022.
Bruh… how?
I signed the contract in May, I only found out about the scam in September!
Apparently I speak Portuguese now lulz.
Jokes aside, fair enough. Surely a $3 mill theft is enough to get local authorities involved? Brazilian police don’t care?
Flavio who signed the purchase, Emerson was with him but at the time of signing he was traveling, as for the actions in court, but he is not found to be cited.
so, even though he has companies operating here in Brazil, I can’t recover anything through this channel.
justice understands that they are different companies, regardless of being only in Flavio’s name!
In February of this year, a company with the same name (2U Tecnologia) appeared in Lisbon, but my friends in the region cannot say that it belongs to Flavio, anyway, I’m still hunting for him!
Outside of civil action there’s no investigation by police?
Also when you say traveling, within Brazil or abroad?
This is not a police case, only justice can act in breach of contract, and about Emerson, my sources found a trace of him in Florianópolis, including having an account at Banco do Brasil in the city, in a noble and exclusive neighborhood called ” JURERE INTERNACIONAL”, but we lost track of him!
I can spend the afternoon sending the places where I already looked, for this reason I expanded the search to other countries, calling friends in several places because as a Brazilian if they are caught here they will not be extradited, but outside of here.
it will be a pleasure to know that they were sent to the USA! I may not receive it, but I’ll throw a party on that day, you can bet!
Yo, fugitive Ponzi scammers steal companies worth $3 mill and it’s not a police matter?
Dafuq going on in Brazil?
Embezzlement would be the case of the police, but his fraud was made before the transfer of the company, which in the end did not happen, and I had to assume, the only thing I can do is sue in court and try to prove it, but even so, bill collectors come to my door!
Have you at least reported it to police? Theft is theft and you never know, someone might be willing to investigate.
If you file a report, make sure to make a big deal about the $100 million DOJ case and Pires’ and Goncalves’ wanted fugitive status.
You might get lucky and find a cop who takes offense to his country being used as a shelter for Ponzi scumbags.
I’ve tried, but I can’t prove anything to the police other than the breach of contract, so I only have a lawsuit, which if it’s not found, it won’t solve it!
If they are really hiding here in Brazil, they are calm about what they did there, since the American justice only adopted informative measures, it was just a search to name them, not a search and seizure in fact!
The problem with the DOJ case isn’t on the American side. It’s that Brazil doesn’t extradite its own citizens.
Brazil’s fed police are also too lazy to investigate and open their own case.
Anyway good luck with trying to find them. Shame nobody in law enforcement is willing to investigate fraud and help.
I’m exhausted, that’s the truth, this situation has destroyed my finances and my health, so much so that.
hopeless as I am, if I find any of them I guarantee to put them in the trunk of the car and deliver them to Paraguay, from there they’ll ship them to you there !
Okosh/oz , think your mis understanding me my daughters friend is owed a ton of money and my daughter and her husband, her friend is not a scammer he flew in to see them was talked into investing , so he has there phone personal number.
he was told by them they are going to return funds, now im just passing the what was told to him, he is in the same boat out of pocket and still.
so at the time of my 1st post 2 months had already past the time my daughter told me.
Your daughter’s friend isn’t owed anything. He invested into a Ponzi scheme and scammed others by recruiting them into it, that money is gone.
If he isn’t outright lying about being in contact with someone, he’s being led down the garden path by recovery scammers.
NovatTech FX collapsed. There is and won’t be any recovery outside of regulatory intervention.