Investors scramble to recoup money from 23-year-old 'Crypto King' who allegedly owes $35 million
A 23-year-old self-described “Crypto King” from Whitby, Ont. allegedly owes at least $35 million to investors, but only about $2 million of his assets have been recouped, including lavish possessions like two McLarens, two BMWs and a Lamborghini, documents show.
More than 150 investors who handed over a collective $20 million to Aiden Pleterski and his company AP Private Equity Limited, which invests in cryptocurrency and foreign exchange, are now working with fraud recovery lawyer Norman Groot to get their money back.
“It's not clear at this time where those funds have gone, even though obviously a lot of it has to do with his lifestyle,” Groot, founder of Investigation Counsel PC, told CTV National News.
Pleterski owned 11 high-end cars, in addition to leasing several others, rented a waterfront home in Burlington for approximately $45,000 per month and owned five or six watches, valued at between $200,000 and $400,000, according to a bankruptcy trustee's report obtained by CTV National News.
“He was burning a lot of money,” Groot said.
On Aug. 9, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared Pleterski and his company bankrupt.
But only $2.2 million worth of assets has been seized, including $32,000 worth of jewellery and personal items, a list of luxury cars, with 2018 Lamborghini Huracan reaching the highest estimated value at $350,000, along with cash and bank drafts worth $606,773.
“The assets available shortly after bankruptcy are certainly much less than what's owed to the investors,” Rob Stelzer, who was appointed as Pleterski’s bankruptcy trustee, told CTV News Toronto.
'A Young Bill Gates'
Pleterski called every week “winning week,” promising investors five to seven per cent on returns, according to documents from a creditors meeting on Aug. 29.
“People bought into it. They thought he was a young Bill Gates,” Groot said.
Though he was young, Pleterski began investing in cryptocurrency back in 2015, with an article in Forbes pre-dating his bankruptcy noting his ability to leverage his knowledge as an avid gamer to understand and thrive in the online trading world.
“A lot of this money was taken in while it was escalating in value, and then when it quickly started to de-escalate in value, people wanted what they thought were their profits…which of course, he couldn’t pay out,” Groot said.
Stelzer said a number of people have alleged Pleterski was operating a Ponzi scheme. “We are investigating that,” he said.
Aiden Pleterski is seen in a photo posted on Youtube.
“We take this very seriously, we know there's a lot of people who are owed a lot of money. Many of these are ordinary people who've invested $25,000, $50,000, $100,000. That's a lot of money for most people. Me and the team here at Grant Thornton will be working very hard to recover as much of that money as we can and maximize what's available to creditors.”
CTV News Toronto has reached out to Pleterski’s lawyer multiple times, but has not received a response.
'A 20-year-old kid'
In a virtual creditor meeting last month, Pleterski claimed he lost all of the money given to him around late 2021 and early 2022 in a series of “margin calls and bad trades,” documents reviewed by CTV News Toronto show.
During the meeting, the bankruptcy trustee asked for evidence of these bad trades in addition to bank statements. “So, far Pleterski has failed to do so,” the document reads.
When Pleterski was asked why he continued to invest money when he knew it could not be repaid to investors, he said “he was a 20 something year old kid.”
In response to questions about his book keeping, Pleterski said he was “very unorganized” and did not have “any accounting advice.”
“Everything travelled through word of mouth and happened very quickly. He did not keep track of his finances, nor did he keep a record of his indebtedness or payments. Pleterski claimed that he and the creditors signed contracts via text message,” according to meeting minutes summarizing Pleterski’s responses on Aug. 29.
In order to trace how much money was handed to Pleterski and find out where it went, Stelzer said his team is reaching out to financial institutions and locating bank statements.
“The Trustee also acknowledged that there are allegations that statements provided by Pleterski had been forged, which is why the Trustee requested statements directly from the financial institutions as well,” the meeting minutes state.
Of the more than 150 creditors Groot said he spoke to, he said he hasn’t seen anyone with actual trading documentation. The investors have records of transferring money, but the question is what happened to it after that, Groot said.
“You shouldn't invest in what you don't understand,” he said. “Anytime you're putting serious money at risk you should have somebody perform some sort of due diligence, or at least bounce it off an independent trusted person to get a second opinion to make sure that you’re not making a move that you’ll later regret.”
With files from CTV National News' Heather Butts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Toronto police seek suspect vehicle after security guard shot outside Drake's mansion
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they've changed their name
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.