Canada ‘crypto king’ abducted, tortured over $3M ransom: reports
A self-proclaimed “crypto king” was allegedly kidnapped, reportedly enduring days of torture and assault from attackers demanding a multimillion-dollar ransom.
Aiden Pleterski, 23, of Ontario, Canada, was “taken” from Toronto in December and held hostage by kidnappers demanding at least $3 million, his father and associates said, CTV News Toronto reported.
Details of the abduction were revealed in court papers related to a bankruptcy proceeding involving millions of dollars Pleterski allegedly spent living lavishly instead of investing.
“They basically held him for approximately three days, drove him around different, various parts of southern Ontario, beat him, tortured him, allowed him to make specific phone calls to specific people only. I was not one of those people that he was allowed to contact,” his father, who was not identified, said in December.
While held captive, Pleterski contacted his landlord and asked for $3 million, the court papers reportedly recounted..
“I received multiple calls from Aiden, but it was late at night,” the landlord reportedly said, “and then at around 1:30 a.m., I finally had enough, and I picked up the call.”
The landlord recounted how Pleterski said there was no one else he could call, to which he responded: “There’s absolutely nothing I can do.”
Pleterski is embroiled in a bankruptcy controversy in which he allegedly was asked to invest over $40 million — and instead spent nearly $16 million on lavish vacations, expensive cars and private planes, according to CTV News.
Bankruptcy trustee Rob Stelzer told CTV that Pleterski “ran a business in which he told people he would invest their money and that’s not what happened.”
“He really didn’t do what he said he was going to do,” Stelzer added.
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 less than 2% of the funds.
