- An alleged Canadian fraudster who ran a crypto investment scam claims he was kidnapped and tortured by those he owed money to
- Aiden Pleterski, who called himself the “Crypto King of Canada”, pilfered CAD $40 million of investors’ money and spent it on himself
- Pleterski is claiming bankruptcy to protect his assets from claimants
A Canadian man who dubbed himself the “Crypto King of Canada”, was reportedly abducted, tortured, and threatened after allegedly defrauding investors of millions of dollars through a crypto investment scam. According to court documents filed earlier this month, Aiden Pleterski was kidnapped following numerous claims worth CAD $25 million have been filed against him during bankruptcy proceedings, which he has allegedly used to try and protect his assets.
Pleterski Used Investor Funds to Buy Supercars and Property
The astonishing case saw Pleterski allegedly promise investors that he would invest their funds in cryptocurrency and foreign exchange positions. However, out of the $41.5 million he received, Pleterski reportedly invested less than 2% of the total amount, spending approximately $16 million on personal expenses, such as renting private jets, extravagant vacations, and purchasing several exotic cars, including Ferraris, Audis, Lamborghinis, McLarens, a Land Rover, and a BMW.
Pleterski claimed to have lost all his investments in November 2021, around the time when crypto markets started to reverse from their all-time highs. According to Pleterski’s testimony, as his losses started piling up he took aggressive positions in an attempt to recover the investors’ money – known as ‘revenge trading’ – claiming that he was trying to redeem himself, but eventually became consumed by greed.
Pleterski Kidnapped and Tortured for Three Days
Last December, the Toronto Police informed Rob Stelzer, the trustee in the bankruptcy case, that Pleterski had been kidnapped. On March 14, court documents included testimony from Pleterski’s father, Dragan Pleterski, stating that his son had been taken and tortured for three days. According to court documents, while in captivity, Pleterski contacted his landlord, Sandeep Gupta, and asked for $3 million to pay his kidnappers.
Pleterski was later released under the condition that he quickly find the money to pay his captors and not contact law enforcement, but Pleterski did.
