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 documents.
In the end, 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, court records said.
This week, Akil Heywood, 39, who had invested with Mr Pleterski, 24, was charged with kidnapping. Toronto police said in a statement Monday that they had arrested and charged four men with kidnapping for ransom and other charges: Mr. Heywood, Tyler Fast, 37, and Deren Akyeam-Pong, 24, all from Toronto, as well as Rakeem Henry, 24, from London.
Mr Heywood was one of dozens to invest with Mr Pleterski, who would invest their money in cryptocurrency and currency holdings, according to court documents. But after spending money to feed a lavish lifestyle, buying three Lamborghinis and three McLarens, Mr Pleterski filed for bankruptcy in August, leaving investors wondering what had happened to their money.
Mr. Heywood, who did not respond to requests for comment this week, had filed a claim for the loss of $740,000 he had invested with Mr. Pleterski, according to Grant Thornton, the appointed trustee in the bankruptcy case. It was unclear whether the three other men charged with the kidnapping had also invested with Mr. Pleterski.
Here’s what you need to know about Mr. Pleterski, his kidnapping and his bankruptcy filing.
A kidnapping in the middle of the night.
Toronto Police said they were alerted to a missing person in downtown Toronto on Dec. 5. The kidnapping victim had been “led into a vehicle by the suspects” and once inside, two men pointed firearms at him, police said.
Toronto police did not name Mr. Pleterski when announcing the arrests, but court documents indicate that it was Mr. Pleterski who was abducted on the night of December 5.
The suspects “demanded a large amount of Canadian currency and the victim’s life and family were threatened,” police said.
The victim was “held captive” for three days as he was taken to various places, where he was attacked, police said. Police said a firearm was fired at some point during the three days, but they did not say whether anyone was injured as a result.
After three days, the victim was released into downtown Toronto, police said.
In a December court interview, Dragan Pleterski, Mr Pleterski’s father, said that while he was abducted, his son was beaten and tortured, and he was only allowed to call specific people.
“I was not one of those people he was allowed to contact,” Mr Pleterski said. “He was released with the threat that he would have to come up with 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 was carrying a loaded gun, police said.
Mr Heywood was arrested on 5 July and released on bail. Mr Fast was also released on bail.
According to the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto, Mr. Henry had not yet been heard on bail on Wednesday and Mr. Akyeam-Pong detained after his bail hearing.
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, Ontario, to study cybersecurity, according to a court interview he did for his November bankruptcy case before he was kidnapped.
In the interview, Mr. Pleterski said that he has no formal training in investing, cryptocurrencies, financial markets or currency markets. Mr Pleterski said he started investing in cryptocurrency markets when he was about 16 or 17 after using cryptocurrency while playing video games.
“That’s what piqued my interest,” he said, adding that “around the same time on social media, when I also started seeing some individuals posting luxury cars, posting luxury lifestyles.”
Mr. Pleterski said he began investing with a few thousand dollars received from relatives, including birthday money and umpiring baseball games.
“Most of the money came from relatives,” he said in the interview.
Three McLarens, two Lamborghinis and three Audis
According to court documents, Mr. Pleterski incorporated AP Private Equity Limited on December 13, 2021. Around that time, he started looking for people to invest in cryptocurrencies and foreign markets.
Several people, including Mr. Heywood, invested millions with Mr. Pleterski. According to court documents, Mr. Pleterski raised about $41.5 million from investors, but he invested only 1.6 percent of that money, “meaning 98.4% of what Pleterski raised was never invested.”
Instead, Mr Pleterski spent about $15.9 million on “extended vacations”, renting private jets and several luxury vehicles, including three McLarens, two Lamborghinis, three Audis and two BMWs, according to court documents.
A bank analysis found that “Pleterski’s extravagant lifestyle, which was funded by his investors,” “ultimately led to his bankruptcy,” according to court documents.
More than 150 creditors have filed claims against Mr. Pleterski in the bankruptcy case, according to Grant Thornton.
Mr. Pleterski appeared smitten in a video.
In a video received this week by CBC Toronto, a visibly beaten Mr. Pleterski apologized to investors and gave 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 news outlet that his captors had forced him to speak.
“When the crypto market started falling in November 2021, I should have been honest with everyone,” Mr Pleterski said in the video, adding that he had lost about $45 million in the crypto market in a month.
“I lost enough to where my debts exceeded my assets,” he said, adding later in the video that he “wanted to make it right for everyone.”
“I’m going to do it before I buy myself another car, before I buy myself another watch, before I buy myself expensive clothes or something,” Mr. Pleterski said. “I’m going to live on the bare minimum until every last soul is repaid.”