A 23-year-old Canadian trader and self-described “Crypto King” – Aiden Pleterski – is facing legal suits after allegedly failing to return at least $35 million to his investors. Authorities have already seized $2 million in assets from the Ontarian-born trader including two McLarens, two BMWs, and a Lamborghini. Pleterski ran an entity called AP Private Equity Limited through which he promised to generate massive returns for investors through cryptocurrency and Forex trades.
CBC covered that creditors like Diane Moore invested $60,000 which she had initially earmarked for her grandchildren’s education. Her agreement with Pleterski’s business included a 70% promise of any capital gains realized by the trader and a full refund of her initial investment if things went south. The contract promised 10 to 20% biweekly returns on her investment. However, only $10,000 of her total initial investment remains.
Moore now doubts whether Pleterski was ever a trader to begin with or if he deliberately scammed people through his fraudulent investment scheme. She is now one of 29 creditors involved in legal proceedings against Pleterski claiming they’re owed a combined $13 million. Another investor who claims to have lost $4.5 million has secured a Mareva injunction against the so-called “Crypto King” meaning Pleterski’s assets and bank accounts are now frozen globally.
The founder of the fraud recovery law firm investigating the trader – Norman Groot – has gathered information from roughly 140 investors who were affected by Pleterski’s scheme. He discovered that Pleterski lived a luxurious lifestyle. He discovered 11 vehicles, a private jet, and a lakefront mansion in Burlington, Ontario rented for $45,000 per month, all paid for by Pleterski using investors’ funds.
Groot said that tracing the location of the remaining funds might be difficult because Pleterski received many of the investments in cash. Groot added that many of the funds were provided to Pleterski when excitement was brewing during a period when the crypto market was rallying. Since the bear market began, cryptocurrency lenders who promised high returns have gone bankrupt e.g Celsius and Voyager.
However, Pleterski’s lawyer told Micheal Simaan CBC that all the creditors’ claims against the trader have been wildly exaggerated and are off the mark. By his account, the trader began investing in cryptocurrency as a teenager and people began giving him money once they found out how much he was making. However, he claimed that Pleterski never solicited funds from others.
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