Whitby’s Aiden Pleterski has been found guilty of fraud over $5,000 following his jury trial in Toronto. The Aiden Pleterski fraud verdict was delivered on October 29, marking a major development in the investment case involving the man who called himself the “Crypto King.”
The 27-year-old will remain under house arrest at his parents’ Whitby home while the case moves toward sentencing, according to Radio-Canada’s courtroom report. He has not yet been sentenced.
November appearance is to set a sentencing date
The parties are due back before Ontario Superior Court Justice Shaun Nakatsuru on November 13 to schedule the sentencing hearing. That appearance is not a confirmed sentencing date, despite the wording of some secondary headlines.
Radio-Canada reported that the judge ordered house arrest rather than the curfew sought by Pleterski’s newly retained legal representation. The restrictions allow limited exceptions, including legal, medical and court appointments, with accompaniment by a surety.
Jury decided the fraud charge
The verdict followed a trial examining what happened to money investors entrusted to Pleterski for cryptocurrency and foreign-exchange trading. He had pleaded not guilty and represented himself during the trial.
A separate money-laundering charge was withdrawn by the Crown before the jury reached its decision. The Aiden Pleterski fraud verdict should therefore not be described as a conviction on both original charges.
CBC’s trial coverage reported that a forensic accountant traced more than $36.3 million provided by investors. The accountant testified that none of those funds went to FXChoice, the platform identified in investment contracts. Financial evidence described personal spending and payments back to investors instead.
Defence request was rejected
CBC also reported that Nakatsuru rejected Pleterski’s request for a mistrial, in which he argued that proceeding without a lawyer had made the trial unfair. The judge said he remained satisfied Pleterski could have made a full defence if he had chosen to do so.
The conviction is a criminal-court outcome, not an announcement of repayments to investors. Neither the verdict nor the next scheduling appearance establishes how much anyone will recover.
Sources: CBC’s October 29 verdict report; Radio-Canada’s October 29 courtroom report; CBC’s October 29 trial report; CBC’s October 28 evidence and closing-statement report.
