Toronto court hears audio evidence of alleged $300 million crypto fund never existing
An audio recording presented at Aiden Pleterski's fraud trial showed him acknowledge that a purported $300 million investment fund was fictitious, while prosecutors allege he misused millions of investor money.
A recording from June 2022 was played in Ontario Superior Court on Monday as part of the fraud trial of self-styled “Crypto King” Aiden Pleterski. In the audio, Pleterski told investors that the $300 million fund he had promoted “never existed.”
The recording also captured investors questioning the authenticity of screenshots and documents that had shown a $311 million balance on the FXChoice trading platform. One investor, Chris Winn, testified that he had recovered $330,000 of his $450,000 investment and described the scheme as a Ponzi operation.
Pleterski, who is representing himself, has pleaded not guilty to fraud over $5,000 and money-laundering charges. Earlier testimony from former associate Mitchell Learning indicated that Pleterski had deleted the FXChoice account after showing investors a fabricated balance, and that he admitted to using new investors’ money to repay earlier investors.
Forensic accountant Albert Ciorma, speaking on behalf of the Ontario Securities Commission, said his audit found that more than $36 million from investors was never transferred to the trading platform. Instead, Pleterski spent roughly $16.3 million on luxury vehicles, credit-card bills, travel, private jets, security, and family transfers, while returning about $16.1 million to investors.
Winn’s testimony and the remainder of the audio recording are expected to be heard later Monday. After the prosecution rests, Pleterski will have the opportunity to call his own witnesses and present his defence.