Two Ontario men, one of whom is a self-proclaimed “Crypto King,” have been arrested and charged with fraud. They allegedly received more than 40 million Canadian dollars ($29.4 million) from investors.
aiden Pleterski, 25, was charged on May 2 with fraud in excess of $5,000 Canadian dollars and laundering the proceeds of crime. His associate, 27-year-old Colin Murphy, was also indicted, but was released on bond, according to a police statement.
Durham police launched the investigation in July 2022 after a wave of complaints about investment fraud committed by a Whitby resident. The probe uncovered an accomplice who also promised high weekly returns through investments.
“The victims gave him money under similar circumstances, expecting him to invest it on their behalf and return large profits,” police reported. “These victims were also ultimately defrauded and were unable to recover their funds.”
Police will hold a press conference on Thursday to reveal more details.
According to CBC News, Pleterski’s investors have been searching for more than $40 million Canadian dollars that they invested with him in cryptocurrencies and foreign currencies for more than a year and a half. Toronto bankruptcy proceedings pending before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice have so far recovered about $3 million for about 160 investors.
What’s more, the trustee’s investigation revealed that Pleterski used $16 million exclusively for his own use. This included renting private jets, luxury vacations, buying a car and leasing a lakeside mansion. Shockingly, he invested only about 2% of the funds entrusted to him.
Pleterski then introduced himself as a professional online streamer. In one instance during a live broadcast, he responded to a viewer’s comment calling him “unemployed” with the phrase “internet money gang, internet money.”
Crypto King kidnapping
Last year, kidnappers allegedly abducted Pletersky from downtown Toronto and held him captive for three days, subjecting him to torture and demanding a multimillion-dollar ransom.
Suppressing Pleterski’s activities, an Ontario judge issued an arrest warrant in December for Ryan Rumble, another associate who allegedly helped him run a multiyear, multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency investment scam.
