'Crypto king' associate operated parallel Ponzi scheme while living lavish lifestyle, court documents allege
'Crypto king' associate operated parallel Ponzi scheme while living lavish lifestyle, court documents allege
Colin Murphy, one of Aiden Pleterski’s “originators,” is seen in a photo posted on Instagram (tspvisuals).
An associate of Ontario’s self-described “crypto king” was operating his own fraud scam parallel to the multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme, court documents allege.
Colin Murphy, 26, is being accused of operating a Ponzi scheme within a Ponzi scheme after an Oshawa, Ont. resident launched a civil lawsuit against him in December to recover $270,000 in investments.
“What is alleged is that Murphy was operating his own investment program parallel to what Pleterski was operating,” Norman Groot, a fraud recovery lawyer representing the investor, told CTV News Toronto.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Beginning in June 2021, Groot’s client said he started transferring Murphy money for Pleterski to invest, which Murphy claimed grew to $878,444.60 at its height, according to a notice of action filed in December.
At the onset, Murphy showed the investor his Porsche and Lamborghini as evidence of his returns on investments, which he made through Pleterski’s trades, the legal notice says. Largely through word of mouth, Pleterski was gaining a reputation for the “significant returns” he was making on investments.
Murphy also stored “boxes of cash” in his grandfather’s house, which he claimed were returns stored for other investors, according to legal documents.
After almost a year of investing with Murphy, Groot’s client wanted to cash in. In WhatsApp messages included in an affidavit, the investor told Murphy the money he had transferred was his life’s savings.
At that point, Murphy began to reduce his communications with the investor, the documents allege.
Colin Murphy takes a photo at Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket, Ont. (Instagram).
In texts included in the affidavit, Pleterski messaged the investor in June 2022: “Colin took money in from so many individuals that I never ended up seeing. Colin has over 2M in assets he can liquidate but he isn't.”
Court documents allege there is no evidence that the investor’s funds were ever transferred to Pleterski. “Murphy had engaged in a fraud on investors - parallel but distinct from the Pleterski Ponzi scheme,” a notice of action says.
Murphy's lawyer, Sukanta Saha, said it would be inappropriate for his client to speak with CTV News Toronto because the matter is before the court, but that Murphy “denies all allegations that have been put forward.”
“My client, Mr. Murphy, takes the position that he is just as much a victim of Mr. Pleterski's misdeeds as anyone else and this will be shown in the robust defence that will be put forward by Mr. Murphy in due course.”
Pleterski’s lawyer did not respond to requests from CTV News Toronto, but has previously stated that his client disputed much of what has been alleged in court and called the financial claims made by investors “wildly exaggerated.”
A LAVISH LIFESTYLE
An Ontario Superior Court froze Murphy’s assets in September 2022, after a separate investor came forward with similar allegations to Groot’s client.
Murphy’s social media posts, which are chronicled in court documents, continued to depict a lavish lifestyle – driving a Lamborghini in Las Vegas, accelerating to 250 km/h in a Mercedes Benz on unplowed roads, posing on a jet ski in Nassau and shooting a handgun at a range in Orono, Ont.
Yet Murphy simultaneously told the investor that he did not have any funds to pay them back – “a fact inconsistent with his lifestyle,” legal documents allege.
“Clearly there are assets that are not accounted for,” Groot said.
Colin Murphy driving a Lamborghini Huracan on Oct. 4, 2022 (Instagram).
“The next available process to attempt to preserve assets and to attempt to preserve evidence, most importantly in the form of data, is to apply for a private search order.”
Groot obtained a civil search warrant from Justice H.K. O’Connell on Jan. 12, 2023 for the residence Murphy was staying at in Whitby, Ont., court documents show.
Investigators executed the warrant a couple days later and found Murphy refused to surrender an iPhone 13. Digital forensic experts concluded that he had deleted data off of the device, which he later justified as “resetting” the phone because there were “intimate photos” on it.
As a result, Murphy was found in contempt of court, a subject that will be addressed at an upcoming sentencing. He’s also been ordered to turn over financial records dating back to 2020, including money received and transferred to Pleterski.
As the case progresses, Groot said he’s working to preserve all of the data and assets that he can trace along with connecting with other investors involved. “Anyone who has had dealings with Murphy, we certainly are interested in hearing from them,” Groot said.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
The federal budget shows the government's proposed dental-care insurance program will cost more than double what the Liberals originally thought, driving it up by another $7.3 billion over five years.
Tucked into the 2023 federal budget unveiled on Tuesday in Ottawa, the Liberals have announced plans to explore implementing a standard charging port across Canada, in an effort to save Canadians some money and reduce waste.
Serious money is heading for Canadian industries looking to reduce emissions after the federal government unveiled its answer to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
The federal Liberal government is committing $8.7 million to hold more consultations on Indigenous resource sharing, in a budget that offers relatively little new spending on its reconciliation agenda.
Another American community is reeling after a shooter killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville. These are the three children and three adults whose lives were taken by the shooter.
Nashville police have released security camera footage of a suspected shooter entering the private Christian elementary school. The shooting claimed the lives of three children, all aged nine, and three adults.
Gwyneth Paltrow's highly publicized ski collision trial is shining a spotlight on the unspoken rules that govern behaviour on the slopes. Testimony over the last six days has repeatedly touched on skier's etiquette -- especially sharing contact information after a collision, and ski turn radiuses -- in what experts have said is the most high-profile ski collision trial in recent history.
Montreal police say they have identified two more victims found in the rubble of a fire in Old Montreal 12 days ago. Charlie Lacroix and Walid Belkahla, both 18, are the sixth and seventh victims of the fire.
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while performing an arrest in Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec (SQ) has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years. She was assigned to the post of the MRC de Maskinonge. Another officer was injured during the incident, but their life is not in danger.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
A London toddler is fortunate to have avoided serious injury after a giant cinderblock came through her bedroom window in the middle of the night. Around 4 a.m. on March 26, Riiver was sleeping with her head right under the front window of her home on Emerson Avenue.
London fire crews are currently tackling a ‘large grass fire and working barn fire’ in the southeast section of the city Tuesday afternoon and are asking the public to avoid the area.
Drivers north east of London may run into some traffic problems on Tuesday. A single-vehicle collision resulted in a truck ending up on its side in a ditch in the area of Valley View Road and Thorndale Road.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
The driver of a pickup truck, a 47-year-old woman, has died after a crash with a tanker on MR55 in the Greater Sudbury community of Lively on Tuesday morning, police say.
Nashville police have released security camera footage of a suspected shooter entering the private Christian elementary school. The shooting claimed the lives of three children, all aged nine, and three adults.
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
One person is dead after an early morning fire in Kanata, while another person is being treated for smoke inhalation after being rescued from the burning home by a bystander who spotted the fire while driving to the gym.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Provincial police say a group of teenagers caused a train to make an emergency stop because they were lying on the tracks as the train approached in New Tecumseth.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Almost three years after a man disguised as a Mountie started murdering people in Portapique, N.S., on the night of April 18, 2020, the senior RCMP officers and staff involved in the tragic case have all either retired or moved into new jobs.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
New Brunswickers suffering from a mystery neurological disorder are calling for an investigation into potential environmental causes of the health problems they've been living with for more than two years.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Rima Rifai thought her furnace had exploded Monday when the house across the street burst into a ball of fire, sending 10 people to hospital with serious injuries.
A B.C. man has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend's daughter nearly a decade ago, when the girl would have been just eight years old.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Alberta's police watchdog has released more information about an incident at a Red Deer Walmart in which a man who had been reported missing in Calgary was shot by police.
Colin Murphy, one of Aiden Pleterski’s “originators,” is seen in a photo posted on Instagram (tspvisuals).
Colin Murphy takes a photo at Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket, Ont. (Instagram). 
Colin Murphy driving a Lamborghini Huracan on Oct. 4, 2022 (Instagram). 
