“Crypto King” Aiden Pleterski kidnapped, held for ransom: report

A self-proclaimed “crypto king” was allegedly kidnapped, reportedly suffering days of torture and attacks by attackers who demanded a multimillion-dollar ransom.

Aiden Pleterski, 23, of Ontario, Canada, was “kidnapped” from Toronto in December and held hostage by kidnappers who were demanding at least $3 million, his father and associates said, CTV News Toronto reported.

Details of the kidnapping were revealed in court filings related to a bankruptcy proceeding in which Pleterski allegedly spent millions of dollars living lavishly rather than investing.

“They held him for about three days, drove him around different parts of southern Ontario, beat him, tortured him and allowed him to only make calls to certain people. I wasn’t among the people he was allowed to contact,” his father, who has not been identified, said in December.

While being held in captivity, Pleterski contacted his landlord and asked for $3 million, court documents say.

“I got several calls from Aiden, but it was late at night,” the landlord said, “and then around 1:30 a.m. I finally had enough and took the call.”

The landlord shared how Pleterski said he couldn’t call anyone, to which he replied, “There’s absolutely nothing I can do.”

Pleterski is embroiled in a bankruptcy battle in which he was allegedly asked to invest over $40 million — and instead spent nearly $16 million on lavish vacations, expensive cars and private planes, according to CTV News.

Bankruptcy trustee Rob Stelzer told CTV Pleterski: “He ran a business that he told people he was going to invest their money in and that didn’t happen.”

“He really didn’t do what he said,” Stelzer added.

In early December, Stelzer told CTV he was informed by Toronto police that Pleterski had been kidnapped, adding, “I mean, obviously he owes a lot of people a lot of money.”

According to the report, Pleterski actually invested less than 2% of the funds.