- Canadian authorities have arrested a 39-year-old man for kidnapping, threatening, and assaulting Canada’s ‘Crypto King’
- Akil Heywood was also a victim who invested $740,000 with Aiden Pleterski and served as an inspector in the bankruptcy proceedings against him.
- Heywood allegedly extorted $2 million in cryptocurrency from a bankruptcy trustee and has been released on bail
Canadian authorities have arrested a 39-year-old man for allegedly kidnapping, threatening, and assaulting Aiden Pleterski, known as the ‘crypto king,’ who is accused of orchestrating a crypto scam that defrauded investors of over $41 million. Akil Heywood, one of the victims who invested $740,000 with Pleterski, was also involved as an inspector in the bankruptcy proceedings of Pleterski’s case. In addition to the kidnapping, Heywood allegedly threatened a bankruptcy trustee to extort $2 million in cryptocurrency. Pleterski, who spent the embezzled funds on lavish expenses, claimed to have lost all investments during a decline in the crypto markets.
Bankruptcy Inspector Goes Rogue
Heywood was supposedly one of the individuals lured into Pleterski’s crypto scam and served as an inspector in the case’s bankruptcy proceedings. A spokesperson for Heywood’s employer Grant Thornton has revealed that Heywood resigned as an inspector on July 7.
Canadian authorities have released Heywood on bail while they continue their investigation. Heywood is also said to have threatened a bankruptcy trustee Rob Stelzer to induce him to pay him $2 million in cryptocurrency.
Pleterski is accused of deceiving investors by promising to invest their funds in cryptocurrency and foreign exchange, but he allegedly spent most of the $41.5 million on personal luxuries instead. These expenses included renting private jets, extravagant vacations, and purchasing luxury cars like Ferraris, Audis, Lamborghinis, McLarens, a Land Rover, and a BMW.
Pleterski stated that he lost all his investments in November 2021 when the crypto markets began to decline. He claimed to have engaged in risky trading, known as ‘revenge trading,’ in an attempt to recover the investors’ money, but he ultimately succumbed to greed.
Pleterski Was Tortured
In December of last year, the Toronto Police notified Rob Stelzer, the trustee in the bankruptcy case, about Pleterski’s alleged kidnapping. Court documents from March 14 this year revealed testimony from Pleterski’s father, Dragan Pleterski, stating that his son had been abducted and subjected to torture for three days. During his captivity, Pleterski reportedly reached out to his landlord, Sandeep Gupta, and requested $3 million to satisfy his kidnappers.
Subsequently, Pleterski was released with the condition that he swiftly obtain the money to meet the demands of his captors and refrain from involving law enforcement. However, Pleterski did not adhere to this condition and contacted the authorities. He has since pledged to “live on the bare minimum” to repay the conned investors.
