Aiden Pleterski has been charged with fraud and money laundering by Canadian police, along with his associate Colin Murphy.
Following an extensive investigation, the Canadian police have charged Aiden Pleterski, a social media figure known as the “crypto king,” with one count of fraud over $5,000 Canadian dollars ($3,666) and money laundering.
The police and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced that they also charged his associate, Colin Murphy, with using fraudulent means.
Canadian Police Arrest Aiden Pleterski
The arrest of Aiden Pleterski took place on May 14 and he was released on the same day after his parents posted a bond of $100,000 Canadian dollars.
Colin Murphy faces accusations of soliciting contributions and falsely claiming to generate “large weekly profits through savvy investments.” A guarantee that Murphy would show up in court was the basis for his release.
A maximum sentence of fourteen years in prison penalizes fraudulent activity exceeding $5,000. The Durham Regional Police Service and the OSC declined to release the financial facts that led to their accusations at a news conference on May 16.
They cited a publication ban as the reason for their refusal. However, they did state that his fraudulent operations probably lasted until February 2024.
Following a number of filed complaints, the police began their investigation into Aiden Pleterski and his company, AP Private Equity, in July of 2022.
“This investigation was extremely thorough, with more than 40 court orders sought and meticulous analysis of financial documents that took more than 18 months.”Advertisement
Durham Police Chief Peter Moreira, as reported in the news, stated that an investor had filed a fraud lawsuit against them three months prior. Pleterski and his company faced bankruptcy in August of that year.
The trustee in charge of the bankruptcy proceedings discovered that Pleterski had raised $41.5 million Canadian dollars and invested 1.6% of that total amount.
A Lamborghini, two McLarens and two BMW automobiles were among the personal luxuries that he purchased, with a total expenditure of 15.9 million Canadian dollars.
He also rented a home and private jets. Pleterski continued to live the lifestyle of a jet-set celebrity, despite his insolvency and the trustee’s request for his imprisonment.
He claimed in December 2022 that an investor and his associates kidnapped and tortured him. This led to the arrest of five individuals by the Toronto Police Department in July 2023.