Crypto ‘scammer’, 24, ‘kidnapped & tortured’ after ‘spending £13m of investors cash on luxury holidays & supercars’
A SO-called Crypto King was allegedly kidnapped and tortured after allegations he scammed £13 million out of investors and spent it on luxury holidays and supercars.
Aiden Pleterski, 24, is currently going through bankruptcy proceedings amid a months-long investigation by Canadian authorities to trace the missing cash.
Court documents released earlier this month revealed that he had invested less than two per cent of the millions that were handed to him.
The funds were invested in Pleterski and his company AP Private Equity for cryptocurrency and foreign exchange but he has been accused of spending it on extravagant holidays, private jets and supercars.
Last September authorities seized five luxury vehicles including two McLarens, two BMWs, and a Lamborghini.
During the ongoing investigation for the missing cash, Pleterski's father told a court in December that his son had been abducted and tortured, CTV reports.
He said: "He was taken. They basically held him for approximately three days, drove him around different, various parts of southern Ontario, beat him, tortured him, allowed him to make specific phone calls to specific people only.
"I was not one of those people that he was allowed to contact."
Another person Pleterski is said to have been allowed to contact was his landlord who told the court he received a call from Pleterski asking for $3 million as a ransom payment.
"I said, ‘There's absolutely nothing that I can do,’" he testified in court.
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The court heard that later Pleterski was released by his kidnappers under the condition he would find the money quickly, according to court documents seen by CTV.
Rob Stelzer, the trustee appointed to produce the report, told the outlet he was informed about the kidnapping from Toronto police in early December.
He said: "I mean, obviously, he owes a lot of people a lot of money."
Stelzer said he believes there are more people who have lost money in Pleterski’s alleged scheme and called on them to file a claim.
He said: "We know $41 million came into the account net. We know only $25 million have filed claims. You can do the math."
At the time, nearly 140 investors who said they invested collectively $20million responded to a call-out for information from a fraud recovery law firm investigating the "Crypto King."
Documents revealed that Pleterski owned 11 vehicles and leased four other luxury cars.
He reportedly flew on private jets and paid $45,000 a month to rent a lakefront mansion in Burlington, Ontario.
Gary Caplan, the lawyer representing the Pleterski parents,told the outlet he could not comment on the case but pointed to an agreement between the Pleterski parents and the trustee.
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Pleterski's parents have agreed to return two vehicles -an Audi S5 and Volkswagen Atlas- worth more than £80,000 to the trustee as well as pay 500,000 on or before June 30.
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