What goes up, must come down, and in case of Aiden Pleterski, he came down hard. In fact, his fell from grace is something you can see in a crime thriller. And a lot like a crime thriller, his story is as typical as it gets. A young man who became a millionaire overnight, then took a lot of money from a lot of people and scammed them. That would be the first chapter, but then he loses the money as the movie goes on.
And here comes the climax, the self-proclaimed “Crypto King” Aiden Pleterski was kidnapped, tortured, and held for ransom after allegedly exploiting investors out of millions. Funny enough, Aiden owned a neon green Lamborghini Urus which is officially the stereotypical vehicle of choice for all social media scammers. Not that we’re pointing fingers but Aiden’s case does not look good for all Lamborghini Urus owners.
Aiden Pleterski; A Classic Tale
Last August, Pleterski declared bankruptcy after being accused of running a fraudulent investment scheme. The 23-year-old allegedly convinced investors that he would pool their funds and invest them in cryptocurrency and foreign exchange positions. However, since bankruptcy proceedings began, $25 million Canadian worth of claims have been filed against him. This is according to the official court documents file against him.
Pleterski’s alleged deceitful behavior was revealed as it was discovered that he only invested less than 2% of the total amount he received, which amounted to $670,000. This is in stark contrast to what he promised investors, leaving many with significant financial losses. The alleged investment scheme has brought into question the regulation and security of the cryptocurrency market, which has become increasingly popular in recent years, as investors look to capitalize on its high returns.
In the meantime, Aiden Pleterski did what every 23-year-old dreams to do one day. Allegedly, Aiden spent around 16 million on his “personal lifestyle” which is all part of the plan. After all, he had to convince investors on social media by flexing hard. His extravagant lifestyle included renting private jets and going on awesome vacations. But, the hallmark of all crypto millionaires is perhaps their car collection. Other than the mandatory neon green Lamborghini Urus, his exotic vehicle collection consisted of “a Ferrari, four Audis, three Lamborghinis, three McLarens, a Land Rover, and a BMW.” Now, Maybe the author is jealous, but honestly why three McLarens? McLarens tend to lose value very quickly overtime due to their poor reliability.
All that said, using cheat codes in real life can have devastating consequences.
Kidnapped, Tortured and Held for Ransom
In a shocking turn of events, Pleterski’s troubles seemed to have escalated beyond his financial mismanagement. Pleterski’s father testified that his son had been kidnapped, held captive for three days, tortured, and beaten by unknown assailants in December 2021. He was only released on the condition that he quickly find money to pay his kidnappers and refrain from contacting law enforcement.
Pleterski reportedly reached out to his landlord, Sandeep Gupta, while in captivity, asking for $3 million to pay his kidnappers. According to Pleterski’s father, his son was eventually released with the threat that he needed to come up with some money fast and not involve law enforcement.
The kidnapping has further complicated the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings against Pleterski. The case has already seen $25 million Canadian worth of claims filed against Pleterski. Now, with the added layer of criminality, the situation has become even more complex. It remains to be seen what impact the kidnapping will have on the bankruptcy case and how it will affect the investors who have lost their money due to Pleterski’s alleged fraudulent investment scheme.
Perhaps, the downturn in his situation began with the FTX Collapse back in November 2021. As the crypto market started to deteriorate, Aiden claimed that he has lost all his crypto investments. Obviously, the self-proclaimed crypto king of Canada assured his investors that he was taking aggressive measures to give people back their money.
“I essentially tried to redeem myself […] but obviously in doing so, I guess you could say greed took over,” he testified. “I was trying to make returns that obviously weren’t feasible or weren’t necessarily possible at the time, and it just caused more losses.
How to Prevent Future Aiden Pleterski!
Now that he’s sorry, his regret is not helping anyone get their money back. Unfortunately, one of the biggest stains in the face of crypto is fraudulent social media personalities. Young people with flashy lifestyles, green Lamborghini Urus selling a false promise of success is a big problem for the longevity of cryptocurrencies. Now, while governments are obsessively imposing crypto regulations, nobody is doing anything about false social media marketing. It’s always sad to see hopeful investors with less technical knowledge losing their life savings. And in case of crypto, nine times out of ten the money will go missing in the oblivion and never recovered. We’ve seen similar cases on a larger scale with FTX and Terra.
On one hand, crypto personalities emphasis on the need for the lack of regulatory supervision on the market. However, People like Aiden Pleterski prove that unregulated markets need more regulation.
But, here is the best financial advice you will ever get. Don’t trust people who own a green Lamborghini Urus!
