Prosecutors said investor funds bought private jets, luxury cars and mansion

The verdict followed a trial in which Crown prosecutors called more than a dozen witnesses, including investors Pleterski had cheated and accountants and financial experts who testified about his scheme. Pleterski pleaded not guilty and represented himself, cross-examining only one witness. He presented no evidence and did not testify.

Pleterski was charged in May 2024 with one count each of fraud and money laundering following a 16-month joint investigation by Durham Regional Police and the Ontario Securities Commission. The laundering charge was later dropped. At the time, Durham Regional Police Chief Peter Moreira called it potentially the biggest-ever fraud case in the region.

During the trial in Ontario’s Superior Court, prosecutors presented evidence of Pleterski’s lavish spending of investor funds, according to local media. He is believed to have taken more than C$36m from investors and spent about half of it.

Prosecutors said he used money sent to his company, AP Private Equity Limited, to buy multiple trips on private jets and to spend about C$5.6m on luxury vehicles. They also said he spent C$45,000 a month on a lakefront mansion in Burlington, Ontario, while racking up C$4.9m in credit card bills.

Bankruptcy proceedings showed Pleterski also bought a McLaren and a BMW for his parents — who had given him C$50,000 as a crypto investment — along with a Louis Vuitton bag, a Burberry coat and a 2017 Bentley Bentayga.

In closing arguments on Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Akshay Aurora told the jury that “Pleterski was no ‘Crypto King’.” “He was a thief. A thief who stole investor money and used it as he pleased,” Aurora said, according to CBC News.

The case unraveled publicly before Pleterski’s arrest. In December 2022, he was kidnapped in the middle of the night in downtown Toronto, with his captors demanding a large sum for his release. “I’m sorry, I really am, I didn’t want to or mean to ruin anyone’s life,” a bruised and bloodied Pleterski said in a video obtained by CBC News. He was released three days later after being tortured, including waterboarding, cigarette burns and beatings with golf clubs.

Pleterski returns to court on 13 November for a sentencing hearing.