Ontario crypto king kidnapped, tortured in an attempt to get millions in ransom, documents say
Ontario crypto king kidnapped, tortured in an attempt to get millions in ransom, documents say
Ontario’s self-described crypto king was abducted, tortured, and beaten for days as his kidnappers looked to solicit millions in ransom, his father told a court in December.
New documents, obtained by CTV News Toronto, include details of the December incident where Aiden Pleterski was allegedly abducted from downtown Toronto and driven around southern Ontario for about three days.
The nearly 750-page report, released on March 14, also contains the latest findings in a months-long pursuit to trace millions of dollars invested into cryptocurrency and foreign exchange with the 23-year-old before he was petitioned into bankruptcy.
The documents allege Pleterski invested less than two per cent of the more than $40 million handed to him. Instead, he allegedly spent nearly 38 per cent, almost $16 million, on luxury cars, private jets, and elaborate vacations.
“Aiden ran a business in which he told people he would invest their money and that's not what happened,” Rob Stelzer, appointed bankruptcy trustee on the case, told CTV News Toronto. “He really didn't do what he said he was going to do.”
CTV News Toronto made multiple attempts to contact Pleterski’s lawyer but received no response.
THE ALLEGED KIDNAPPING
In early December, Stelzer told CTV News Toronto he was informed by Toronto police that Pleterski had been kidnapped.
“I mean, obviously, he owes a lot of people a lot of money,” Stelzer said.
Transcripts from court examinations with Pleterski’s father and landlord, reviewed by CTV News Toronto, reveal more details about how the alleged kidnapping unfolded.
“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,” Pleterski’s father told a courtroom in December.
However, one of the people Pleterski was said to have been allowed to call was his landlord, who said in court that Pleterski asked him for $3 million as a ransom payment.
“I received multiple calls from Aiden, but it was late at night … and then at around 1:30 a.m., I finally had enough, and I picked up the call,” his landlord said in court on Feb. 9.
Pleterski said he had no one else to call, according to his landlord. “I said, ‘There's absolutely nothing that I can do.’”
The court heard that, days later, Pleterski was released by the kidnappers near his landlord’s residence. His release was on the condition he came up with the money fast, according to court documents.
There were no further updates on Pleterski’s release included in the bankruptcy report.
A spokesperson for Toronto police told CTV News Toronto they could not confirm any information that would identify a victim or witness in relation to the investigation. Officers did not provide information on the suspected kidnapper or on the status of arrests made in connection to the case.
SPORTS CARS AND PRIVATE JETS
According to court documents, Pleterski told investors he would increase the value of their money, but in actuality, more than 98 per cent of the money he collected was never invested.
Instead, he spent nearly $16 million on extravagant cars, private jets, and elaborate vacations that equated to approximately 38 per cent of the money he raised from investors, according to a banking analysis in the new report.
Pleterski drove more than 10 sports cars, court documents allege. Among the collection, he owned a McLaren Senna, a very rare, limited-production supercar originally purchased for $1.6 million in September 2021.
CTV National News: 'Crypto king' declared bankrupt
The latest documents also detail two properties Pleterski allegedly sunk investor funds into — one in Ajax, Ont. worth $5.5 million, supported by a $500,000 deposit, and another in Burlington, Ont. where he put down a deposit totalling $500,000.
In Stelzer’s view, as the bankruptcy trustee, both properties should be sold and the funds should be returned to investors. In the report, he listed reasons to justify this stance, which highlighted these properties were “funded by investor funds whose money was used by Pleterski in an unauthorized manner.”
PARENTS SETTLE
Pleterski’s parents said they believed their son was operating a successful investment business, court documents show.
“I knew when he was in high school, he was playing games upstairs on his computer just like any other teenager,” Pleterski’s father said in his cross-examination in December, detailed in a transcript included in the new report.
“But at some point, you became aware that he was trading in cryptocurrency?” the trustee’s lawyer said.
“At some point, yes,” Pleterski’s father replied.
According to Stelzer’s calculations, Pleterski’s parents allegedly benefited more than $1.1 million from their son’s scheme.
Gary Caplan, the lawyer representing the Pleterski parents, told CTV News Toronto he could not comment on the case because it is currently before the courts. However, Caplan pointed to a settlement agreement that has commenced between the Pleterski parents and the trustee.
In cooperation with the bankruptcy proceedings, the parents have agreed to return two vehicles – an Audi S5 and Volkswagen Atlas – with a market value in excess of $100,000 to the trustee. That goes alongside paying $812,000 on or before June 30.
Meanwhile, Stelzer said he believes there are still more people out there who lost money in Pleterski’s alleged scheme who have yet to come forward.
“We know $41 million came into the account net. We know only $25 million have filed claims. You can do the math,” he said.
“They should reach out … and get the claim filed. The only way they can participate in a dividend is by doing it.”
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – have been taken to hospital after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar.
Although bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Canada, experts say there’s a significant lack of awareness surrounding whom it affects the most — statistically, men — and that the most common risk factor is smoking.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has confidence in David Johnston, even as the House of Commons is about to vote in favour of a motion to push him out of his job.
Canada will soon require health warnings to be printed directly on individual cigarettes, making it the first country to implement this kind of measure aimed at reducing tobacco usage.
More than three years after Covid was declared a global pandemic, a new study is looking at how the international health crisis has changed the lifestyle habits of Canadians.
The Canadian economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year and likely expanded again in April, fuelling speculation that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates again.
A former staffer who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault has defected to Moscow and spoken to Russian state media in a news conference that lasted several hours.
Last year, Quebec’s Bill 96 became law, which brought sweeping changes to the Charter of the French language. Sections of the new law will come into effect on June 1, the one-year anniversary of the bill receiving royal assent.
High heat is pushing into parts of Quebec this week, and many communities could see record-breaking temperatures this week. Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued special weather statements, advising people of the above-average temperatures.
A new team working out of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada (SHC-Canada) wants to get young people like Horn, who injured themselves, back on their feet and running as fast and efficiently as possible.
People who live on Ralgreen Crescent in Kitchener say it could have been a lot worse after a car careened off the road and smashed through their backyards on Tuesday afternoon.
A Toronto woman says she was shamed for the size of her order at a sushi restaurant north of the city in a scathing review posted to social media that’s been viewed more than 1.4 million times.
Forest fires in northern Ontario are on the rise, with the largest in the region shutting down a critical highway for the people of Hornepayne for a bit and bringing the community to the brink of evacuation.
A heat warning is in effect for Ottawa. Environment Canada's forecast calls for sunny and hot weather to continue for the final day of May and the start of June.
Canadian Heritage unveiled the programming for July 1 celebrations, inviting Canadians to come to the capital region to "join the biggest party in the country!"
Windsor police say they are deploying additional officers to the downtown core over the next three days to promote community safety and reduce incidents of crime.
Huntsville OPP has charged a third girl in connection to an alleged assault captured on video at a local high school and shared on social media earlier this month.
May 31, 1985, started like any other day in Barrie, but all that changed later that afternoon when the sky changed colour, suddenly and without warning, plunging the city into chaos.
Police charged one man following a serious collision involving a dump truck and car in Barrie on Tuesday afternoon that sent both drivers to the hospital.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – have been taken to hospital after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – have been taken to hospital after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar.
Manitoba RCMP have arrested a priest from a First Nation community who is accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, and believe there may be more victims.
Hundreds of nurses from across B.C. are gathering in Vancouver Wednesday to demand better working conditions, adding to multiple calls by medical professionals this week for urgent action to staff under-resourced hospitals.
A man who worked at an addiction recovery organization has been charged with three counts of sexual assault, according to the New Westminster Police Department.
The northern Vancouver Island village of Sayward remains on edge Wednesday as a wildfire continues to burn out of control just five kilometres west of the community.
CTV National News: 'Crypto king' declared bankrupt
