Investors watching posts from 'Crypto King' in the wake of fraud, money laundering charges
CTV
Former investors of the self-styled “Crypto King” say they are watching his social media accounts and worried his displays of wealth are signs he’s spending their money, even now, as another large expense tied to Aiden Pleterski has triggered a previously unreported lawsuit.
Former investors of the self-styled “Crypto King” say they are watching his social media accounts and worried his displays of wealth are signs he’s spending their money, even now, as another large expense tied to Aiden Pleterski has triggered a previously unreported lawsuit.
In the hours after police announced fraud and money laundering charges against Pleterski last week, he posted videos of himself dancing and lip syncing, without reference to the allegations against him that he ran a Ponzi scheme that duped investors out of more than $40 million.
Though it is difficult to say when the videos were recorded, they appear to show Pleterski in a hallway of a house and not in the midst of lavish trips to Los Angeles, London or Miami, as he has posted about since the civil suits against him began, but are now forbidden by his bail conditions.
“If you’ve got somebody with that kind of means and the kind of opportunity that he has coupled with his known history of travel and enjoying the good life, I can see why the Crown would say, you know what? You’re grounded. Your wings are clipped. Stay home,” said Vanessa Iafolla of Antifraud Intelligence Consulting in an interview.
The 25-year-old from Whitby, Ont. was released on a $100,000 bail with his parents signed as sureties and an order he reside at their home. Other conditions restrict Pleterski from attending any bus station, train station, airport and border crossing.
“There’s a very clear undertone in those restrictions, of don’t spend the money that’s not yours, essentially,” said Justin Villeneuve, a civil lawyer who is not involved in the case but has been following it closely.
The bail conditions also forbid him from using his online channels to sell investment products he once touted widely on social media and livestreaming channels – something police said they had evidence of him doing as recently as February.
