The trial of the alleged “Crypto King” kidnappers begins today
Five men are accused of abducting Aiden Pleterski in an ultimately futile attempt to get $40 million back
The trial of two of the five men accused of kidnapping Toronto’s self-professed young “Crypto King” begins today, following explosive allegations of misspent millions and retaliatory violence.
In late 2022, Aiden Pleterski, originally from Whitby and then in his early 20s, was kidnapped and held in captivity for three days. He is accused of defrauding investors out of roughly $40 million, apparently investing only a fraction of clients’ funds into the cryptocurrency market.
Instead, he reportedly splurged on his own lavish lifestyle, including a $45,000-a-month lakefront mansion in Burlington, and three McLarens, two Lamborghinis, three Audis and two BMWs.
Related: A Toronto judge found two men guilty in the St. Michael’s Hospital fraud case today
Pleterski has denied the criminal allegations, which will go to court separately in 2026.
One of the accused now standing trial, Akil Heywood, faces three charges tied to the alleged kidnapping, in addition to two charges of extortion.
Another of the co-accused, Alfredo Paladino, will be tried alongside Heywood on charges of kidnapping, extortion, firearm use and assault. The others will be tried at a later time.
Durham Regional Police called it their largest fraud investigation ever. Has Netflix picked up the rights yet? We’d watch.
Related: Inside the multimillion-dollar embezzlement case against Singa Bui
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
