A man who called himself the “crypto king” was reportedly kidnapped, and his attackers allegedly beat and tortured him for days while demanding a multi-million-dollar ransom.
Aiden Pleterski, a 23-year-old Canadian from Ontario, was “taken” from Toronto in December and held as a hostage by people who wanted at least $3 million, his father and other people close to him told CTV News Toronto.
Details about the kidnapping were found in court documents about Pleterski’s alleged use of millions of dollars to live a lavish lifestyle instead of investing them.
“They held him for about three days, drove him around different parts of southern Ontario, beat him and tortured him, and only let him call certain people on the phone. “I wasn’t one of the people he could talk to,” his father, who didn’t give his name, said in December.
Court papers say that while Pleterski was being held captive, he called his landlord and asked for $3 million.
“Aiden called me several times, but it was late at night,” the landlord is said to have said. “At 1:30 a.m., I’d had enough, so I picked up the phone.”
The landlord said that Pleterski told him he couldn’t call anyone else, to which Pleterski replied, “There’s nothing I can do.”
Pleterski is in the middle of a bankruptcy scandal. According to CTV News, he was asked to invest more than $40 million, but instead he spent almost $16 million on fancy vacations, expensive cars, and private planes.
Rob Stelzer, a bankruptcy trustee, told CTV that Pleterski “ran a business where he told people he would invest their money, but he didn’t.”
Stelzer added, “He really didn’t do what he said he was going to do.”
Pleterski is involved in a bankruptcy case where he was allegedly asked to invest $40 million, but instead spent $16 million on luxury items.
In early December, Stelzer told CTV he was informed by Toronto police that Pleterski had been kidnapped, adding: “I mean, obviously, he owes a lot of people a lot of money,”
According to the report, Pleterski actually invested under 2% of the funds.