Key Takeaways
- • Real estate developer Sacha Singh testified at Aiden Pleterski's Toronto fraud trial that he gave the self-described "Crypto King" more than $4.5 million across 23 investment contracts between April 2021 and early 2022, the largest sum any of the 11 Crown witnesses so far has said they provided.
- • The other 10 witnesses combined testified they provided roughly $2.3 million, and most say they never got their money back.
- • The Crown alleges Pleterski guaranteed investor funds for trading but never invested them, instead spending the money on exotic cars, private jet flights, lavish shopping and credit card bills.
- • Singh says he received $700,000 back in November 2021 and continued investing because of it, but later learned in recorded calls that the money came from other investors' funds.
- • Pleterski, who is representing himself, has pleaded not guilty to fraud over $5,000 and money laundering; police and the Ontario Securities Commission allege a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
Summary
Real estate developer Sacha Singh told the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that he gave Aiden Pleterski more than $4.5 million to trade in foreign exchange and cryptocurrency, according to CBC Toronto. Singh, who testified virtually, said he first met the 27-year-old at a restaurant in Pickering, Ont., in the spring of 2021, and described Pleterski as a "sharp kid" who could be one of the crypto industry's "unicorns." He signed his first contract for $10,000 in April 2021 and went on to sign 22 more contracts over the following 10 months, with individual amounts ranging from $10,000 to $1.3 million. Wire transfer receipts were shown for most of the contracts, while a few reflected cash payments.
Singh was introduced to Pleterski by fellow investor Akil Heywood. Like other witnesses, he received weekly percentage returns, which ranged from three to nearly 11 per cent, from messages sent by Pleterski. Singh's own spreadsheet calculated his holdings had grown to more than $26 million by March 2022. He never received those returns, and he recovered only $700,000 of his principal after requesting a $1 million withdrawal in November 2021. He testified he would not have kept investing had he known that money came from his own earlier contributions.
Singh later recorded phone calls with Pleterski in which he asked whether the $700,000 came from the FXChoice trading platform or from other investors. Pleterski said it came from the platform but acknowledged that, since February 2022, he had been paying returns "out of pocket" by selling assets, and that FXChoice had stopped paying out. In other recordings, Pleterski reportedly claimed the platform had access to only $20 million to $30 million. Singh was also shown a video of the FXChoice account showing more than $311 million, which another investor, Mitchell Learning, had obtained.
Learning, a former friend and investor, testified that he visited Pleterski's Burlington mansion in June 2022, found an email indicating Pleterski had deleted the FXChoice account, and was later told that Pleterski had lost much of the money in riskier trades before "starting running a Ponzi scheme." The 11 Crown witnesses have collectively provided about $6.8 million, according to CBC's tally of their testimony. Pleterski, who was arrested in May 2024 following an investigation by Durham Regional Police and the Ontario Securities Commission, has not cross-examined Singh or Learning and told the court, "I don't have the legal knowledge to challenge the inconsistencies, your honour." The trial is expected to continue.
Singh was introduced to Pleterski by fellow investor Akil Heywood. Like other witnesses, he received weekly percentage returns, which ranged from three to nearly 11 per cent, from messages sent by Pleterski. Singh's own spreadsheet calculated his holdings had grown to more than $26 million by March 2022. He never received those returns, and he recovered only $700,000 of his principal after requesting a $1 million withdrawal in November 2021. He testified he would not have kept investing had he known that money came from his own earlier contributions.
Singh later recorded phone calls with Pleterski in which he asked whether the $700,000 came from the FXChoice trading platform or from other investors. Pleterski said it came from the platform but acknowledged that, since February 2022, he had been paying returns "out of pocket" by selling assets, and that FXChoice had stopped paying out. In other recordings, Pleterski reportedly claimed the platform had access to only $20 million to $30 million. Singh was also shown a video of the FXChoice account showing more than $311 million, which another investor, Mitchell Learning, had obtained.
Learning, a former friend and investor, testified that he visited Pleterski's Burlington mansion in June 2022, found an email indicating Pleterski had deleted the FXChoice account, and was later told that Pleterski had lost much of the money in riskier trades before "starting running a Ponzi scheme." The 11 Crown witnesses have collectively provided about $6.8 million, according to CBC's tally of their testimony. Pleterski, who was arrested in May 2024 following an investigation by Durham Regional Police and the Ontario Securities Commission, has not cross-examined Singh or Learning and told the court, "I don't have the legal knowledge to challenge the inconsistencies, your honour." The trial is expected to continue.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.