23-year-old 'crypto king' kidnapped, tortured over $3 million ransom: reports

Aiden Pleterski has over 10 sports cars, including a $1.6 million McLaren Senna. (Image credit: aiden.ptrs/Instagram)

Aiden Pleterski, a self-proclaimed “crypto king” in Canada, was allegedly kidnapped and tortured by attackers seeking $3 million in ransom in December, according to reports quoting his father. Pleterski is facing bankruptcy proceedings as Canadian authorities are currently trying to recover millions from the 23-year-old who is accused of scamming investors.

A trustee report from the bankruptcy proceedings claims that Pleterski used most of money he got from investors to fuel his lavish lifestyle, including a private jet, luxury cars and vacations in exotic locations, CBC News reported. Pleterski invested less than two per cent of the more than $40 million he got from investors, documents say.

Pleterski was kidnapped in the middle of the night in December from downtown Toronto and driven around southern Ontario for about three days, his father told a court the same month after his release, CTV News Toronto reported. His father alleged that Pleterski was beaten and tortured by the kidnappers and that he was allowed to make only specific calls to specific people.

His landlord was among those who got a call from him while he was kidnapped. Pleterski allegedly asked him for $3 million as a ransom payment, the landlord said.

“Aiden ran a business in which he told people he would invest their money and that's not what happened,” Rob Stelzer, the bankruptcy trustee on the case, told the news channel. “He really didn't do what he said he was going to do.”

Aiden Pleterski has over 10 sports cars, including a $1.6 million McLaren Senna which is a rare, limited-production supercar, CTV News Toronto reported citing court papers.

“I knew when he was in high school, he was playing games upstairs on his computer just like any other teenager,” Pleterski’s father reportedly told the court.

“But at some point, you became aware that he was trading in cryptocurrency?” the trustee’s lawyer said.

“At some point, yes,” Pleterski’s father said, according to the court documents which have the transcrpit of the proceedings.