Two victims of a Canadian 23-year-old, who described himself as a cryptocurrency genius just to allegedly scam millions of investors, have surfaced – when the self-proclaimed child prodigy’s parents agreed to return $100,000 in cars and $812,000 in cash.
A Toronto real estate agent, Sacha Singh, sparked the collapse of Aiden Pleterski’s alleged plan in July 2022 when he filed court documents demanding the immediate freezing of Pleterski’s accounts in order to recover the CA$4.56 million (3 .32 million dollars) to get back.
A grandmother who lost CA$50,000 ($34,000) said she doesn’t know “how he can live with himself”.
Pleterski, 23, is currently struggling with bankruptcy proceedings.
Aiden Pleterski drove at least 10 different sports cars including a rare McLaren Senna purchased in September 2021 for over $1 million
Diane Moore, 65, invested money at Pleterski that was earmarked for her grandchildren’s education. She lost CA$50,000 ($36,000).
He is accused of taking the millions invested in him by speculators and spending 98 percent of the funds on his lavish lifestyle, jetting around the world; buy numerous properties; and keep a garage stocked with supercars including a Lamborghini, McLaren and BMWs.
Pleterski, who was confronted with why he continued to take money from investors even though he knew he couldn’t repay his existing clients, told investigators he was “a kid in his 20s,” CBC News reported
Pleterski was not arrested – and claimed in December he was kidnapped, held for three days and tortured before being released.
One of Pleterski’s alleged victims, Diane Moore, 65, of Clarington, Ontario, said she invested CA$60,000 ($43,700) after meeting Pleterski through a friend she had known for many years.
The money was intended for her grandchildren’s education, but she lost all but CA$10,000 ($7,300).
“It was all based on trust,” she told CBC News last year.
“I hate what Aiden has done – and I don’t know how he can live with himself.”
Moore said she was told Pleterski would take 30 percent of any winnings and he guaranteed her original deposit was safe.
“I don’t know if he ever actually acted,” Moore said.
‘Or was that his plan and it was just the story to set me up with other people?’
A bankruptcy trustee said the impact of the alleged fraud was devastating.
“Some of the stories of the impact the losses caused by Pleterski’s alleged actions are having on creditors are heartbreaking,” wrote Rob Stelzer, senior vice president at Grant Thornton.
Pleterski was in trouble even before his plan collapsed.
Domestic violence charges were filed against him in Florida on June 9, 2021, when a former girlfriend accused him of assaulting her, CTV News reported.
Pleterski is seen in a June 2021 mugshot after he was accused of domestic violence in Florida. The charges were dropped two weeks later
She’d confronted him with photos he’d posted to Instagram and the pair began to argue – a verbal disagreement that she said turned physical.
“The suspect intentionally grabbed the front of the victim’s shirt with both hands and started yelling at her. This premeditated violence was against the will of the victim,” wrote the deputy, who reached the home in Davenport, south of Orlando.
She tried to leave, the indictment says, but he repeatedly blocked the door.
“The victim stated that during this time she did not feel free to leave,” the affidavit reads.
The charges were dropped by prosecutors two weeks later, on June 22.
A little over a year later, Pleterski’s storefront also collapsed.
A Toronto real estate agent, Sacha Singh, filed court documents calling for the immediate freezing of Pleterski’s accounts — something the court agreed to on July 7, 2022.
Singh invested CA$4.56 million ($3.32 million) in Pleterski between April 2021 and January 2022 after being introduced by a friend.
In February 2022, Singh requested that part of the money be paid out, but Pleterski was unable to hand it over.
Toronto real estate agent Sacha Singh invested CA$4.56 million ($3.3 million) in Pleterski and took legal action to try to get it back — prompting Pleterski’s downfall
Pleterski, 24, is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings as authorities in Canada desperate to recover the $29 million he allegedly defrauded
Singh became increasingly concerned and began investigating – he, along with the friend who had introduced them, learned that Pleterski had lied about some of the bank accounts he said he had and was trying to sell some of his luxury cars.
Singh managed to freeze Pleterski’s accounts, and a month later the floodgates opened when other investors realized that they too had been duped.
In August, investors questioned Pleterski for five hours, according to minutes of the meeting obtained by CBC News.
When asked why he kept investing money knowing he couldn’t repay his current investors, Pleterski told the meeting he was “a kid of about 20.”
Pleterski is now believed to have paid for cheap coverage in obscure online news outlets, underpinning his story of self-made success.
When authorities try to recover some of the money, Pleterski’s father claimed his son was kidnapped in the middle of the night in December and held for three days.
He was reportedly released after a few days – but was told he had to raise the money quickly or face further consequences.
One of the few calls he was allowed to make was to his landlord, who testified that Pleterski called and asked him for millions of dollars in ransom.
‘I said, ‘There’s absolutely nothing I can do.’
No suspects were uncovered in the kidnapping, and Toronto police did not provide any information about the alleged kidnapper or whether arrests were made.
Pleterski’s parents said they believed their son was running a successful investment business.
The Canadian “crypto king” posts his glamorous fleet of supercars on his Instagram — including his gray Mclaren 720S with suicide doors, which is on the market for at least $300,000
Pleterski has posted pictures online of his luxury getaways – including vacations on yachts, sailing the seas with his friends and cruising around in his flashy sports cars
The latest revelations from Pleterski’s father in a government report detailing what happened to the funds are that Pleterski (pictured right) was kidnapped in the middle of the night in December
Pictured: his gray Mclaren 720S being washed. Pleterski is said to have operated a Ponzi scheme with his clients, allegedly using investments by some clients to fake returns for others
He is also said to have spent his millions on a private jet and several luxury vacations
Aiden Pleterski, 23, is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings as authorities in Canada seek to recover the $29 million he is accused of defrauding investors
Pleterski posted a photo of himself shopping on his Instagram account while his followers congratulated him on his new fit
“I knew when he was in high school, like every other teenager, he played games on top of his computer,” Pleterski’s father said in December.
The bankruptcy attorney asks, “But at some point did you realize he was trading cryptocurrency?”
“Someday yes,” Pleterski’s father replied.
Stelzer claimed that Pleterski’s parents benefited more than $1.1 million from their son’s plan.
The pair have agreed to return an Audi S5 and a Volkswagen Atlas – with a market value of over $100,000 – to escrow, CTVNews reported.
They will siphon off over $812,000 by June 30 in cooperation with the bankruptcy case, the report said.
Stelzer, the trustee tasked with compiling the report, told CTV he received a call from Toronto police about the kidnapping in early December.
“I mean, obviously he owes a lot of money to a lot of people,” Stelzer said.
The $29 million could be just the beginning of what Pleterski owes investors, according to attorney Norman Groot, who was hired by some of those scammed by the crypto king.
Groot characterizes Pleterski as engaging in a Ponzi scheme with his clients, allegedly using investments by some clients to fake returns for others.
He’s trying to figure out how much Pleterski transferred from his account, with losses that could double $29 million.
Pleterski claimed in 2021 that he lost investments when the crypto market collapsed this fall.
“I think you could say that greed took over and I took very aggressive positions and I tried to get returns that were obviously not feasible or not necessarily possible at the time and it just has more causes losses,” he said.
A report from trustees investigating the system says that Pleterski took the $29 million from investors and said he would invest it in both crypto and foreign currencies.
Trustees claim he only invested about $485,000, or less than 2 percent of the total funds available.
The report claims he spent approximately $362,000 on a warehouse where he kept the remaining cash.
Videos and photos posted to his Instagram stories and highlights show his fleet of luxury cars and his private jet trips to Miami.
His extravagant vacations are also documented in the highlights, showing the crypto king living his best life on luxury yachts, jet skiing across the bright waters, dining with wives and friends over wine and oysters, and sitting in the front row at concerts.
His 95.2k followers watched his every move, complimented Pleterski and praised his dealings with celebrities like Machine Gun Kelly.
He also showed off his yellow Lamborghini Aventador SV – which costs at least $507,000 to buy. Pleterski often made sure his 97,000 followers on Instagram knew what flashy new car he was driving
Alongside posts about his supercars, the 23-year-old revealed how he’s traveled in style with all the money he’s made. He is believed to have chartered private jets to take him and his friends on lavish vacations
Canadian government investigators are trying to figure out how to recover the millions lost by Pleterski, seen here with Machine Gun Kelly
Pleterski has posted a ton of luxury cars on his Instagram Highlights, including this yellow Lamb Aventador SV (left) and this red Lamborghini (right).
A 720S gray Mclaren with suicide doors (left) can be seen on his Instagram stories along with a Lamborghini STO (right).
Its vehicle fleet includes two orange sports cars – which the “crypto king” has amassed alongside a number of flashy Mclarens and Lamborghinis
It also says Pleterski has driven at least 10 different sports cars, including a rare McLaren Senna purchased in September 2021 for over $1 million.
Another $700,000 went to the mansion where Pleterski lived, including rent and a down payment to eventually purchase it.
He gave an additional $940,000 to an employee, while Stelzer claims Pleterski’s parents also got around $800,000 from their son.
Stelzer, the government trustee, wants the properties sold and the money returned to Pleterski’s investors.
Stelzer has said he believes there are more people who have lost money on the scheme and has encouraged them to come forward.
“We know that $41 million net came into the account,” he said.
“We know only $25 million in claims have been made. You can count.
“You should come forward… and file the lawsuit. You can only participate in a dividend by doing it.”
Pleterski’s lawyers have not yet commented on the kidnapping allegations.
Pleterski’s attorney, Micheal Simaan, previously told CBC Toronto that his client disputes many of the claims against him and that Pleterski believes the financial claims of many of the people who gave him money were “wildly excessive.”