Cynthia and Eddy Petion, the husband-and-wife duo behind collapsed Ponzi scheme NovaTech FX, may have traded Panama’s beaches for Dubai’s skyscrapers. That’s the latest theory from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which still can’t track them down.
On September 29th, the SEC filed a declaration suggesting the Petions might be living in Panama or Dubai. The revelation came as part of a motion asking the court for permission to serve the couple through alternative means — like WhatsApp, email, or maybe carrier pigeon at this point.
Panama: Still on the Map
Panama isn’t out of the running just yet. The SEC’s investigation found plenty of ties keeping the Petions connected:
Real estate holdings.
A bar they once operated.
Companies registered under their names.
Bank accounts.
A one-year office lease (2022–2023).
Birthday parties with family and co-defendants in 2023.
Cynthia even became a permanent resident, got a Panamanian driver’s license, and used a WhatsApp number with Panama’s 507 country code to chat with her brother, NovaTech CTO Ricardo Roy, as recently as June 2025.
So, Panama is still very much on the board.
The Dubai Connection
But then there’s Dubai — the world’s favorite playground for MLM scam refugees.
The SEC uncovered evidence suggesting the Petions either had or planned to have crypto mining operations in Dubai. Given Dubai’s reputation as a safe haven for Ponzi operators over the past decade, the suspicion doesn’t exactly shock anyone.
If you’re fleeing regulators, Dubai is basically the VIP lounge of financial hideouts.
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The Court Pushes Back
The SEC tried to get clever by asking to serve the Petions via:
Cynthia’s WhatsApp account.
A handful of email addresses gathered by the New York AG.
A public webpage.
But on September 30th, the court said: not so fast.
The judge agreed the SEC had done enough in Panama but wasn’t convinced about Dubai:
“Plaintiff does not explain whether it has attempted to serve the Foreign Defendants in Dubai, nor why it believes effectuating service in the United Arab Emirates would be unavailing.”
In short, the SEC has to go back, try Dubai, and then refile.
Final Verdict
The Petions are proving as slippery as their Ponzi. They may be hiding in Panama, living it up in Dubai, or plotting their next MLM disguise somewhere else entirely.
What’s clear is this: when your regulators are reduced to WhatsApp messages and unanswered emails, you’re not running a fintech empire — you’re running from the law.
Whether it’s Panama’s beaches or Dubai’s towers, the Petions aren’t pioneers in crypto finance. They’re just the latest MLM fugitives bouncing from one hideout to another.
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-Jesse Singh
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