MANDEL: Forensic accountant says no sign ‘Crypto King’ invested his clients’ millions

The boy was living large – the Ritz in Miami, the Venetian in Las Vegas, splurges at Balenciaga, Christian Dior, Cartier and Tourneau, bodyguards and private jets.

It’s not difficult to imagine why self-annointed “Crypto King” Aiden Pleterski was targeted four years ago in a kidnapping scheme allegedly planned by some of his angry investors who claimed he’d stolen their money.

A day after Pleterski told a sentencing hearing for one of his kidnappers about his ongoing fear and trauma at being held and tortured for three days, the 27-year-old was back at his own trial where he’s pleaded not guilty to fraud and money laundering and where a forensic accountant delivered a devastating assessment of his accounts.

Despite taking in millions from Ontario investors with promises he was putting their money into FX Choice in Belize, it seems none of it went there.

$16M flowed through Pleterski’s accounts from 2020-2022

Albert Ciorma, senior forensic accountant for the Ontario Securities Commission, testified that of $16 million that flowed through Pleterski’s accounts from 2020 to 2022, there was no direct payment to FX Choice. But almost $5 million went to pay his credit cards, another $5.6 million for exotic cars, $3.7 million to his Whitby parents, $870,000 for private jet travel and about $600,000 for private security.

“Did any of that money go to FX Choice,” asked Crown attorney Scott Patterson.

“No,” the accountant replied.

“Did any of that money go to Belize?”

“No,” he repeated.

The accountant said he did trace payments by Pleterski to crypto accounts – but they only amounted to about $114,000.

At his trial, a parade of witnesses have testified Pleterski told them they’d earn weekly gains of at least 5% through his investments in foreign exchange, gold and cryptocurrency, and they could withdraw their money at any time.

But most saw little, if any, of their investment ever again.

Used clients’ cash to fund lavish lifestyle

Instead, the Crown alleges he was using their cash to fund his lavish lifestyle.

And lavish it was: Ciorma showed Pleterski’s credit card payments including $50,000 to a Las Vegas hotel, $24,000 for a New Year’s weekend in Mont Tremblant and $84,000 for a house rental in Miami. There was also $65,000 payment to Cartier Jewellers and even a $2,000 charge to Lego.

In 2020, his bank account started out with $405 and like many 21-year-olds at the time, he was receiving infusions from his parents and the government’s COVID CERB payments. By October of that year, he was spending $185,000 to lease a 2017 McLaren sports car and $78,000 to purchase a 2019 Range Rover as hundreds of thousands of dollars was being deposited in his accounts from investors.

When some were able to withdraw part of their “gains,” the Crown alleged Pleterski was simply stealing from Peter to pay Paul by drawing the cash from his other clients.

By the time his alleged Ponzi scheme imploded, angry investors were out millions of dollars.

Kidnapped and tortured in 2022

Pleterski was kidnapped on Dec. 5, 2022 during what he believed to be a Toronto meeting with a potential new investor. Over three days, he was beaten, waterboarded, burned with cigarettes and threatened with death if he didn’t disclose where he’d hidden the money.

Deren Akyeam-Pong pleaded guilty last fall to nine charges including kidnapping and assault. Three others go on trial later this year.

“Being kidnapped is an experience that extends far beyond the incident itself. It affected my sense of safety, freedom, dignity, and ability to trust others,” Pleterski said in his victim impact statement Thursday.

“While I try not to think about it, the knowledge that another person was willing to kidnap me, threaten me, and make me fear for my life has fundamentally changed how I view the world around me,” he said. “I have had to forego any normal routines, like having a steady job, as a safety precaution, which has spiralled into significant financial difficulties which have had far reaching consequences.”

No “financial dispute” justifies kidnapping and violence, Pleterski said.

“Ultimately, I want to be able to move forward with my life without being defined by these events,” he said. “I just hope that the time will come that I don’t have to look over my shoulder or worry about the safety of my family.”

In the meantime, Pleterski acknowledged he faces possible conviction at his own trial.

“All I think about is being locked in a prison for an extended period of time with the same people who kidnapped, beat and threatened me.”

The trial continues.

mmandel@postmedia.com

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