Breaking: QuadrigaCX Co-Founder Is Actually Convicted Criminal — The Story Of Stolen $145 Million Continues

Bloomberg reports that the co-founder of QuadrigaCX, Michael Patryn, is actually convicted criminal Omar Dhanani, who was charged with identity theft and a bank and credit card scam.

Patryn has changed his name twice in 5 years and, following his conviction, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, after which he was deported to Canada.

Bloomberg News obtained Canadian records which prove Patryn’s identity as Dhanani. Records show that he changed his name to Omar Patryn in 2003, and then to Michael Patryn in 2008. However, Patryn denies that he is Dhanani.

Patryn and Gerald Cotten, the founder whose sudden death brought about the scandal that QuadrigaCX is now embroiled in, founded the exchange together in the early days of Bitcoin.

Patryn left 3 years ago, he said, and hasn’t interacted with Cotten very much since:

On the day of our disagreement, I left the company and ceased being privy to operational decisions. Since that time, I have not been involved in the operations or management of any of the Quadriga companies.

While the furor around QuadrigaCX has subsided somewhat, it continues to catch the attention of the wider crypto world, as new unexpected developments emerge on a regular basis. This new information has added another layer of intrigue to an already mysterious story.

Ernst and Young has stepped to act as the court-appointed monitor for the case, and the presiding judge has given the party an extension on its deadline to recover the missing funds. Ernst and Young also reported that storage wallets used by QuadrigaCX to store funds have been empty for months now, which adds to the suspicion behind the firm’s dealings.

Perhaps these incidents are what spurred the Winklevoss twins to say that “crypto companies need rules, not crypto.” The founders of the Gemini exchange received some backlash for their comments, with them subsequently clarifying that they were referring to crypto companies.