Ontario’s self-proclaimed “Crypto King,” Aiden Pleterski, 25, was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering this week, marking what Durham Region’s police chief called the largest fraud investigation in the area’s history.
Pleterski was taken into custody on May 14 and released the same day on a $100,000 bail secured by his parents, according to court documents.
“It’s alleged that Pleterski solicited funds from investors, promising substantial profits while guaranteeing no loss of their initial investments,” said Chief Peter Moreira during a press conference in Whitby, Ontario. “Concerns arose when investors found they could not access their funds, leading them to report Pleterski to the authorities.”
The investigation into Pleterski and his company, AP Private Equity, began in July 2022, triggered by complaints from investors. Dubbed Project Swan, the inquiry was a collaboration between Durham Regional Police and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). Over the course of 18 months, police executed over 40 court orders, reviewed thousands of financial documents, and conducted numerous interviews, aided by four other Ontario police services, the Canada Border Services Agency, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Colin Murphy, 27, one of Pleterski’s associates, was arrested just days earlier and also faces fraud charges exceeding $5,000. Previously, Murphy was sentenced to five months in jail for contempt of court related to an investor’s lawsuit, but was released in March pending an appeal.
As the investigation unfolds, police have yet to disclose the number of victims, stating only that millions of dollars were allegedly defrauded by both Pleterski and Murphy. Despite the allegations, Pleterski has remained active on social media, posting several TikTok videos and an Instagram message thanking his supporters.
This arrest adds another chapter to a CBC Toronto investigation into Pleterski, which has included incidents such as an investor’s alleged kidnapping of him in December 2022, and a Canadian NBA star’s successful attempt to withdraw from an $8.4 million purchase of a lakefront mansion formerly occupied by Pleterski.
Reports indicate that investors have been trying to recover over $40 million they entrusted to Pleterski for cryptocurrency and foreign exchange investments. Pleterski was forced into bankruptcy by some investors in the summer of 2022. Since then, a bankruptcy proceeding in Ontario Superior Court has managed to recover approximately $3 million for around 160 investors.
An investigation by a licensed insolvency trustee revealed that Pleterski invested only about two percent of the funds he received, instead spending nearly $16 million on personal luxuries such as private jet rentals, vacations, luxury cars, and a lakefront mansion.
Stephen Henkel, a senior investigator for the OSC, noted the massive scale of the alleged fraud, which spanned multiple jurisdictions. He emphasized the importance of verifying the registration of anyone offering investment products: “It’s critical for potential investors to ensure that the person or business they are dealing with is registered with Canadian securities regulators.”