Crypto King trial hears recording of Aiden Pleterski admitting $300M fund never existed, CBC reports

Recording played in court

A June 2022 recording was played Monday at Aiden Pleterski’s fraud trial in Toronto. In it, Pleterski says an account shown to investors “basically never existed,” according to the recording presented in court.

Winn described Pleterski as saying he had not traded the money and that the arrangement was a Ponzi scheme. Winn also said the recording captured Pleterski telling investors he was trying to make things right.

Winn describes his investment

Chris Winn, a retired Durham Regional Police officer, testified remotely on Monday. He said he invested a combined $450,000 personally and through a holding company, and received $330,000 back. Winn was among investors at a meeting with Pleterski and others, held about a week after Mitchell Learning testified that Pleterski had confessed to him in June 2022.

Learning recounts account discovery

Learning testified that he visited Pleterski’s lakefront home in Burlington, Ont., in June 2022 and accessed Pleterski’s email on a computer. He said he found a message from FXChoice confirming that Pleterski had deleted his account there.

Learning told the court that Pleterski admitted losing the money through trading the previous year. He also testified that Pleterski said he had since been repaying investors using money from other investors.

Crown outlines financial evidence

Pleterski, who is representing himself, has pleaded not guilty to fraud over $5,000 and money laundering. The Crown alleges he guaranteed investors’ money would be traded but did not invest the funds, instead spending money on himself.

Forensic accountant Albert Ciorma testified that investors provided more than $36.3 million, and none of it went to FXChoice, the platform named in investor contracts. Ciorma said Pleterski spent more than $16.3 million on expenses and paid another $16.1 million to investors.