(Kitco News) – Canada’s self-proclaimed “Crypto King” Aiden Pleterski, and his accomplice Colin Murphy, have been arrested and charged with fraud for allegedly bilking investors out of CAD 40 million ($30 million) through a crypto and foreign exchange investment scheme.
According to a news release from the Ontario Securities Commission, the pair have been charged with offenses under the Criminal Code of Canada as part of Project Swan, a joint investigation by the Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
“Mr. Pleterski has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000 contrary to Section 380(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, and one count of laundering proceeds of Canadian crime contrary to Section 462.31(1)(a) of the Criminal Code,” the release said. “The allegations involving Mr. Pleterski are covered by a publication ban issued on May 14, 2024 pursuant to subsection 517(1) of the Criminal Code.”
Murphy has also been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000 under Section 380(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.
Project Swan included an investigation that spanned nearly two years and involved Pletereski and his company, AP Private Equity Limited. Court documents and local media reports suggest that between 2021 and 2022, 160 investors gave Pleterski and his company roughly CAD 40 million to invest on their behalf in the crypto and foreign exchange markets.
In August 2022, Ontario’s Superior Court ordered Pleterski and his company into bankruptcy and appointed accounting firm Grant Thornton Limited as trustee.
Grant Thornton determined that Pleterski invested less than 2% of the money he was given and spent at least $16 million on himself – including purchasing more than 10 luxury cars, traveling internationally, and renting an $8.4 million lakefront mansion for $45,000 per month.
While testifying during bankruptcy proceedings, Pleterski referred to himself as a “20-something-year-old kid” and told creditors that he was unorganized and didn’t keep records of his finances or payments, according to a report from CBC.
As part of the bankruptcy process, authorities seized two McLarens, two BMWs and a Lamborghini.
The story has trended across news headlines in Canada since July as Pleterski, who is also a small-time live streamer, detailed his Crypto King lifestyle on social media, posting videos about his numerous vacations to places like Los Angeles, London and Miami, driving rented Lamborghinis and McLarens, and detailing his lavish expenditures. Even after being forced into bankruptcy, Pleterski’s social media accounts still depicted his jet-set lifestyle.
One exploit involved Pleterski filming himself assembling a Lego model of the Titanic and admitting that he spent $150,000 on Legos since 2021.
His story received more attention after Pleterski was allegedly kidnapped, beaten, and tortured by five victims of his alleged Ponzi scheme in December 2022. Reports indicate that his alleged abductors held him for three days and subjected him to torture before demanding his landlord-turned-mentor pay a $3 million ransom for his release.
Pleterski was eventually released by his captors, but not before a 12-minute video showing him appearing swollen and bruised while apologizing to investors was posted to social media. Four of the alleged perpetrators have been arrested and charged with kidnapping.
Following his arrest on May 2, Pleterski was released from custody on Monday, with local reports indicating his parents paid his $100,000 bail.
Pleterski’s bail conditions require him to reside at his parents’ house in Whitby and he is restricted from leaving Ontario, having already surrendered his passport to Durham police. He is also prohibited from contacting his associates or investors, possessing a debit or credit card, or posting on social media about financial matters.
At a news conference on Thursday, Whitby-based Durham Regional Police Chief Peter Moreira said Pleterski and Murphy “promised massive profits” to investors, but in the end, “they were ultimately defrauded and were unable to collect” those profits.
He added that Pleterski may have been soliciting investors as recently as February, and called the investigation one of the largest he’s ever seen in this region of Canada. More than 40 court orders were needed to gather evidence in the investigation that spanned almost 18 months before the arrests.
Chief Moreira noted that the maximum sentence for fraud of this scale is 14 years in prison.
