Key Takeaways
- • Forensic accountant Albert Ciorma of the Ontario Securities Commission testified at Aiden Pleterski's Toronto Superior Court fraud and money laundering trial that roughly $16.3 million of investor funds was spent on personal expenses, including about $5.6 million on luxury vehicles and $4.9 million on credit card bills.
- • Ciorma testified that none of the $36.3 million received from investors was sent to FXChoice, the trading platform named in the contracts, and only about $113,000 went to other foreign exchange and cryptocurrency platforms.
- • Pleterski paid about $16.1 million back to investors, funded largely by new investor money, according to the testimony.
- • Pleterski, 27, has pleaded not guilty to fraud over $5,000 and money laundering; he was charged in May 2024 after an investigation by the OSC and Durham Regional Police.
- • The Crown alleges Pleterski guaranteed investor returns but never invested the funds, and Ciorma's testimony was the first detailed financial evidence presented to support that claim.
Summary
Self-described "Crypto King" Aiden Pleterski spent nearly half of the $36.3 million he received from investors on himself and paid out roughly the same amount to investors as returns between 2020 and 2022, according to senior forensic accountant Albert Ciorma of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), who testified at Pleterski's fraud and money laundering trial in Toronto's Superior Court on Friday, per CBC.
Ciorma told the court that none of the funds were sent to FXChoice, the trading platform named in investor contracts as the vehicle for trading on their behalf. Only about $113,000 was sent to other foreign exchange and cryptocurrency platforms. His audit found Pleterski spent about $5.6 million on luxury vehicles, $4.9 million on credit card bills, $870,000 on travel and private jets, $598,000 on security, and nearly $3.7 million given to his parents, and took $609,000 in credit card cash advances. Those expenses total more than $16.3 million. Other outlays included more than $84,000 for a Miami luxury property rental in October 2021 and $95,200 to the Toronto Blue Jays in April 2022.
About a dozen investors have testified to giving Pleterski more than $6 million collectively, describing weekly returns of roughly 2 to 10 per cent reported through texts from Pleterski, and most said they never recovered their money. Two investors described a video of a FXChoice account showing a $311 million balance in spring 2022; Ciorma confirmed that the only figures he reviewed were those shown in court. Investor Mitchell Learning later found an email showing the account had been closed, and testified that Pleterski confessed to losing investor funds and then using new investor money to make payouts.
The Crown alleges Pleterski guaranteed investor money for trading but never invested it. Pleterski, 27, has pleaded not guilty to fraud over $5,000 and money laundering. The jury trial is expected to continue Monday with further forensic accountant testimony.
Ciorma told the court that none of the funds were sent to FXChoice, the trading platform named in investor contracts as the vehicle for trading on their behalf. Only about $113,000 was sent to other foreign exchange and cryptocurrency platforms. His audit found Pleterski spent about $5.6 million on luxury vehicles, $4.9 million on credit card bills, $870,000 on travel and private jets, $598,000 on security, and nearly $3.7 million given to his parents, and took $609,000 in credit card cash advances. Those expenses total more than $16.3 million. Other outlays included more than $84,000 for a Miami luxury property rental in October 2021 and $95,200 to the Toronto Blue Jays in April 2022.
About a dozen investors have testified to giving Pleterski more than $6 million collectively, describing weekly returns of roughly 2 to 10 per cent reported through texts from Pleterski, and most said they never recovered their money. Two investors described a video of a FXChoice account showing a $311 million balance in spring 2022; Ciorma confirmed that the only figures he reviewed were those shown in court. Investor Mitchell Learning later found an email showing the account had been closed, and testified that Pleterski confessed to losing investor funds and then using new investor money to make payouts.
The Crown alleges Pleterski guaranteed investor money for trading but never invested it. Pleterski, 27, has pleaded not guilty to fraud over $5,000 and money laundering. The jury trial is expected to continue Monday with further forensic accountant testimony.
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