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Bitcoin Crime

23-Year-Old 'Crypto King' Has Luxury Cars Seized After $35 Million of Investor Money Vanishes (gizmodo.com) 49

Posted by BeauHD from the fun-while-it-lasted dept.
Five luxury cars, including two BMWs, two McLarens, and a Lamborghini, have been seized from 23-year-old Aiden Pleterski, the self-described "crypto king" of Canada, during bankruptcy proceedings according to a new report from the CBC. But those cars are only worth a fraction of the $35 million that Pleterski allegedly took from investors who thought he'd make them rich in the cryptocurrency market, and it's not clear whether they'll ever see their money again. Gizmodo reports: Pleterski and his company AP Private Equity Limited are facing at least two civil lawsuits after 140 people have come forward to say they invested a combined $35 million with Pleterski. Those people believed they were investing in cryptocurrency, and Pleterski's online presence -- including photos of the 23-year-old on private jets and next to luxury cars-- helped create the image that he knew what he was doing.

Pleterski's YouTube channel and Instagram account have been deleted but it appears he purchased articles on websites like Forbes.mc (the top level domain for Monaco) and the far-right news outlet Daily Caller to get his name associated with success in crypto investment. The Daily Caller article from December 2021 includes a photo of Pleterski looking at his phone in what appears to be a private jet. Notably, December 2021 was a time when cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum were trading near all-time highs. The headline reads, "Aiden Pleterski: Meet the Young Canadian Investor Who Is Taking the World of Crypto By Storm."

The question remains whether Pleterski actually invested any of the money in crypto to begin with, and speaks to just how strange the crypto market has been over the past year. For all anyone knows, Pleterski may have actually invested the money and lost it like so many others since the peak of November 2021. Bitcoin is down 56% since its price a year ago, while ethereum is down 57%. Pleterski insists he invested the money but that he's just bad with record-keeping. But some investors suspect Pleterski didn't even bother investing the money, instead pocketing it for himself, according to people who spoke with the CBC. Investors are trying to get their money back through the bankruptcy court and two civil lawsuits, but criminal charges haven't been pursued, even though some have reported their incidents to Toronto police, according to the CBC.
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23-Year-Old 'Crypto King' Has Luxury Cars Seized After $35 Million of Investor Money Vanishes More

23-Year-Old 'Crypto King' Has Luxury Cars Seized After $35 Million of Investor Money Vanishes

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  • Oh, no! Not the cars! (Score:5, Funny)

    by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Thursday September 22, 2022 @08:50PM (#62906447)

    How is he now going to continue to keep up the pretense to be a successful entrepreneur? Come on, let a scammer at least have the basic tools of his job!

  • Shocked I say!

  • Another pie in the sky. As long as the entire global market is up, crypto is king. Once the markets go down, something that is just "thin air" fizzles out and dies.

  • Learnt a valuable lesson. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by The Evil Atheist ( 2484676 ) on Thursday September 22, 2022 @09:16PM (#62906509)
    Not the kid. The idiots who fell for the imagery of "success".

    If you're so easily duped, then it's time to rethink your entire life.
    • They should have invested in index funds.

      • They should have invested in index funds.

        Index funds aren't doing well either.

        • Re:Learnt a valuable lesson. (Score:4, Informative)

          by necro81 ( 917438 ) on Friday September 23, 2022 @08:23AM (#62907239) Journal

          Index funds aren't doing well either.

          True, but over most ordinary investment time frames (e.g., saving for retirement over decades of a working career) index funds are by far the most consistent, lowest cost, and lowest volatility way to play the stock market. You certainly can do better by putting your money elsewhere - bonds, real estate, fine art, antique cars, beanie babies, orange juice futures, crypto, tulip bulbs. But if you do make a killing there, it tends to be a short-term thing - a flash in the pan. There are few examples of where those alternate investments play out better over the long haul than just using an index fund.

          • You can buy index funds for real estate and bonds, too.

          • Index funds aren't doing well either.

            True, but over most ordinary investment time frames (e.g., saving for retirement over decades of a working career) index funds are by far the most consistent, lowest cost, and lowest volatility way to play the stock market.

            This. But so few people play the long game.

      • He could have just put the money under his mattress and saved his "investors" a 56% loss.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Not the kid. The idiots who fell for the imagery of "success".
      If you're so easily duped, then it's time to rethink your entire life.

      Well, yes. But if you are so easily duped you have a problem with fact-checking and recognizing reality. So it is questionable whether these idiots will realize they were at fault in the first place. They will more likely call us "victim blamers" and go looking for the next scam to fall for. The hardest step in overcoming stupid behavior is recognizing you are behaving stupidly. These days it is also completely acceptable to blame others for your self-inflicted problems, best in the form of abstracts like "

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gTsiros ( 205624 )

        > Add SJW ideology and "codes of conduct" where you are not allowed to explain to people

        re codes of conduct, the notion of unsolicited advice applies here

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by gweihir ( 88907 )

          Actually, the notion of communities having standard applies. Well, some communities have no standards but they tend to accumulate people with no standards as a consequence...

        • > Add SJW ideology and "codes of conduct" where you are not allowed to explain to people

          re codes of conduct, the notion of unsolicited advice applies here

          Did you just give gweiher unsolicited advice?

          Sounds darn judgemental. 8^)

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by DrXym ( 126579 )
      Sadly that's how virtually all these low rent scams work - "look at the jet you'll buy with your winnings!". Doesn't occur to people that if some guy had a surefire way of investing money to make millions he wouldn't be sharing it with anyone else.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      "Lambo" actually became a meme in crypto circles, particularly on Reddit. When a few people actually managed to buy Lamborghinis, there was a surge of "investment".

    • with some level of age related cognitive decline and a handful of people panicking because they're getting too old to work but after going through a recession/depression every 10 years kicked off by our Fed they don't know what to do.

      One of the worst myths TV and movies perpetuate is the idea that people make the right decision under pressure. In Star Wars Luke turns off his targeting computer and destroys the Death Star. If this were real life he'd have panicked, missed the shot and we'd all be singing

      • with some level of age related cognitive decline and a handful of people panicking because they're getting too old to work but after going through a recession/depression every 10 years kicked off by our Fed they don't know what to do.

        It really isn't completely age related, at least to cognitive decline. Having worked with presumably intelligent people for the past 30 plus years, I've seen a pattern.

        Starting work in your 20's "retirement is so far away, and I need the money now"

        Marriage. "I need as much house as I can afford, so let's to some creative financing."

        Family. "Wow, the neighbors took their kids and friends to Disney World. If I refi the house, I can do that too!" Good times, livin' the dream!

        The joys of refinancing. "He

    • Not the kid. The idiots who fell for the imagery of "success". If you're so easily duped, then it's time to rethink your entire life.

      What you say is exactly true, but they so seldom learn. They only stop losing their money after they have no more.

    • Not the kid. The idiots who fell for the imagery of "success".

      Literally the vast majority of super wealthy people have others manage their money based on imagery of success. The entire financial world works like this. It's why idiots like Trump can lost millions and still get people falling over themselves to give him large loans.

      I am re-thinking my life, and wondering how I can be part of the imagery of "success" because god damn it works well for the actually successful millionaires.

  • in crypto. I'm thinking he converted to dollars and moved dollars to the Caymen's and a few other safe havens for dollars. Does anyone see a trend in my comment???

  • Including photos of the 23-year-old on private jets and next to luxury cars-- helped create the image that he knew what he was doing.

    Strange, that to me does the opposite, it screams irresponsible and raises huge red flags about handing over money as if he is truly doing so amazingly at 23 he certainly doesn't need other peoples money to invest.

  • Meanwhile, somewhere..... (Score:5, Funny)

    by jargonburn ( 1950578 ) on Friday September 23, 2022 @12:52AM (#62906785)
    Calvin: Penny for your thoughts?
    Hobbes: Sorry, my thoughts are a buck a piece.
    Calvin: What?! That's outrageous! ....C'mon, just tell me what it is, will you?
    Hobbes: Nothing doing, pal.
    Calvin: Okay, okay! I'll give you 25 cents. That's all I have. Here! 25 cents! Now, what's this big, expensive thought of yours?!
    Hobbes: "A fool and his money are soon par..."
    *Physical altercation ensues*

  • Is that greed is the catalyst that leads to these con-men being so successful. I'm not excusing the crime. He should do serious prison time. But if people weren't so damn greedy, they wouldn't get caught up in these bullshit investment scams.

    I read the whole article but it doesn't appear they got too deep into the details. I wonder what rate of return this clown was promising his investors. Musta been huge, since one woman lost $60,000. That's a hell of a lot of money to dump into an investment that I'd

  • Pro tip (Score:3)

    by DrXym ( 126579 ) on Friday September 23, 2022 @04:26AM (#62906989)
    If any investment scheme entices you to join by showing you pictures of the jets, boats, sports cars etc. you'll be able to buy with your earnings, then it's a scam. No exceptions.
    • (Edit to undo wrong moderation)

    • If any investment scheme entices you to join by showing you pictures of the jets, boats, sports cars etc. you'll be able to buy with your earnings, then it's a scam. No exceptions.

      100% of all investment schemes entice you to join by showing you imagery of success. Fuck man 100% of products being sold to you do the same thing. This is basic marketing and is in no way an indicator of success vs scam. You're about as likely to find pictures of investment bankers driving 10 year old second hand cars stuck in traffic as you are seeing a commercial where Gatorade is being downed by a fat slob sitting on their lounge instead of sports stars mid-play.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DrXym ( 126579 )
        No they don't. Legitimate investment products show cliched photos of people smiling and apparently financially stable / independent. That's because most countries have rules about false, misleading or deceptive advertising and financial regulators have their own rules on top. If they started implying investors could be buying jets, supercars or boats with their returns they'd be in serious trouble.

        Scammers are not troubled by such concerns and so they do all of this.

  • It's almost as if some rich people have never heard of due diligence when entering into high-risk investments. Ah well, I guess they could all afford to lose it. Pleterski doesn't sound like a particularly competent scammer to me either those sound like very easy marks. No real harm done & at least some of that money went back into the economy to support Pleterski's lavish lifestyle.

  • Pleterski's online presence -- including photos of the 23-year-old on private jets and next to luxury cars-- helped create the image that he knew what he was doing.

    He way buying private jets and lluxury cars.

  • including photos of the 23-year-old on private jets and next to luxury cars-- helped create the image that he knew what he was doing.

    My stockbroker has far more than $35 million under management. And he drives a Volvo. Yeah, the jet should have been a dead giveaway as to what Pleterski was doing. And it had nothing to do with managing hus customer's assets properly.

    • I'm not sure the amount involved is just $35 million:

      Pleterski and his company AP Private Equity Limited are facing at least two civil lawsuits after 140 people have come forward to say they invested a combined $35 million with Pleterski.

      It's should be higher if there are other lawsuits.

  • With the plastic engine and pay to use the car's features.

    I would regard BMW to be as much as a luxury car as a Yugo.

  • I think that the words 'investment' and 'crypto' should never be in the same sentence. Though 'gambling' and 'crypto', sure.

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