Investor accused of kidnapping Crypto King

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Late one night in early December, Aiden Pleterski, a self-proclaimed Crypto King, was kidnapped, then beaten and tortured for three days, according to court records.

Eventually, his captors, including one of his investors, let him go, but they left him with a threat: Pay quickly and don’t go to the police, according to court records.

This week Akil Heywood, 39, who had invested with Mr Pleterski, 24, was charged with kidnapping him. The Toronto Police Service said in a statement Monday that it had arrested and charged four men on kidnap-for-ransom and other charges: Mr. Heywood, Tyler Fast, 37, and Deren Akyeam-Pong, 24, all of Toronto, as well as Rakeem Henry, 24, of London.

Mr. Heywood was among dozens who invested with Mr. Pleterski, who was supposed to invest their money in cryptocurrency and foreign exchange positions, according to court documents. But after splashing the cash to nurture a lavish lifestyle, buying three Lamborghinis and three McLarens, Mr Pleterski filed for bankruptcy in August, leaving investors wondering what happened to their money.

Mr. Heywood, who did not respond to requests for comment this week, had filed a claim for losing $740,000 he had invested in Mr. Pleterski, according to Grant Thornton, the trustee named in the case. bankruptcy. It was unclear whether the other three men charged with the kidnapping had also invested with Mr Pleterski.

Here’s what to know about Mr. Pleterski, his kidnapping and his filing for bankruptcy.

A kidnapping in the middle of the night.

The Toronto Police Service said it was alerted to a missing person in downtown Toronto on December 5. The kidnapping victim was lured into a vehicle by the suspects, and once inside, two men pointed guns at him, police say.

Toronto police did not name Mr. Pleterski when they announced the arrests, but court documents say it was Mr. Pleterski who was abducted on the night of December 5.

The suspects demanded a large amount of Canadian currency, and the lives and families of the victims were threatened, police said.

The victim was held captive for three days as he was taken to several locations, where he was assaulted, police said. At some point during the three days, police said a firearm was discharged, but did not say whether anyone was injured as a result.

After three days, the victim was released in downtown Toronto, police said.

In a December court interview, Dragan Pleterski, Mr Pleterski’s father, said that during his abduction his son was beaten and tortured, and was only allowed to make telephone calls to some people.

I was not one of those people he was allowed to contact, Mr. Pleterski said. He was released with the threat that he had to find some money quickly, and if he had gone to the police there would be a lot more trouble.

An investigation led to the arrest of the four men in early July, one of whom had a loaded handgun, police said.

Mr. Heywood was arrested on July 5 and released on bail. Mr. Fast was also released on bail.

As of Wednesday, Mr. Henry had not had a bail hearing and Mr. Akyeam-Pong was held after his bail hearing, according to the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto.

Mr. Henry did not respond to requests for comment this week. Mr. Akyeam-Pong and Mr. Fast could not be reached and it was unclear whether they had lawyers.

Who is Aiden Pleterski?

Mr. Pleterski, a self-proclaimed Crypto King, ran AP Private Equity Limited as an investment firm, according to court documents.

Mr. Pleterski did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Micheal Simaan, a lawyer for Mr. Pleterski, declined to comment on Wednesday.

Mr. Pleterski attended Fanshawe College in London, Ont., to study cybersecurity, according to a court interview he did for his bankruptcy case in November before he was kidnapped.

In the interview, Mr. Pleterski said that he had no formal education in investing, cryptocurrencies, financial markets or foreign exchange markets. Mr Pleterski said he started investing in cryptocurrency markets around the age of 16 or 17 after using cryptocurrency while playing video games.

That’s what sparked my interest, he said, adding that around the same time on social media, that’s when I started seeing people posting luxury cars, publish luxurious lifestyles.

Mr. Pleterski said he started investing with a few thousand dollars he received from family members, including birthday money and refereed baseball games.

The majority of the money came from family members, he said in the interview.

Three McLarens, two Lamborghinis and three Audis

Mr. Pleterski incorporated AP Private Equity Limited on December 13, 2021, according to court documents. Around this time, he started looking for people to invest in cryptocurrencies and foreign markets.

Several people, including Mr. Heywood, have invested millions with Mr. Pleterski. According to court documents, Mr. Pleterski raised about $41.5 million from investors, but he only invested 1.6% of that money, which means that 98.4% of what Pleterski has collected has never been invested.

Instead, Mr Pleterski spent around $15.9 million on elaborate vacations, private jet rentals and several luxury vehicles, including three McLarens, two Lamborghinis, three Audis and two BMWs, court documents show. .

A bank analysis revealed that Pleterski’s extravagant lifestyle, which was funded by his investors, ultimately led to his bankruptcy, according to court records.

More than 150 creditors have filed claims against Mr Pleterski in the bankruptcy case, according to Grant Thornton.

Mr. Pleterski appeared beaten in a video.

In a video received this week by CBC Toronto, a visibly beaten Mr. Pleterski apologized to investors and provided a timeline of what happened to the money they lost. It is unclear when the video was taken, but Mr Pleterski’s lawyer told the outlet that his captors forced him to speak.

When the crypto market started crashing in November 2021, I should have been honest with everyone, Pleterski said in the video, adding that he lost around $45 million in the market. of crypto in a month.

I lost enough where my debts outweighed my assets, he said, adding later in the video that he wanted everything to be good for everyone.

I’m going to do it before I go buy myself another car, before I go buy myself another watch, before I go buy expensive clothes or whatever,” Pleterski said. I will live with the bare minimum until the last soul is repaid.

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