In one Toronto courtroom, Aiden Pleterski, a.k.a. the “Crypto King,” is standing trial for allegedly defrauding investors of millions through a Ponzi scheme, money that prosecutors say he burned on luxury cars, vacations, private‑jet travel and a lakefront mansion.
uncertain
he → stand → cars
On Thursday, he appeared in a different courtroom in the same downtown courthouse — this time as a victim.
asserted
he → appear → victim
For more than three days in December 2022, Pleterski was kidnapped, threatened and tortured by assailants who prosecutors allege were trying to collect an investor’s money.
asserted
prosecutors → kidnap → money
He was excused from his fraud trial to deliver a victim‑impact statement at the sentencing of one of his abductors, Deren Akyeam‑Pong.
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He → excuse → abductors
Ontario’s self-described “Crypto King” Aiden Pleterski was kidnapped, threatened, and tortured by three captors in December 2022.
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King → describe → December
Ontario’s self-described “Crypto King” Aiden Pleterski was kidnapped, threatened, and tortured by three captors in December 2022.
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King → describe → December
Pleterski was pistol-whipped, burned with cigarettes and waterboarded as his captors demanded passwords to his crypto accounts.
asserted
captors → whip → accounts
At one point, Akyeam-Pong fired a gun beside Pleterski’s head during a staged execution.
asserted
Pong → fire → execution
“Being kidnapped ... affected my sense of safety, freedom, dignity and ability to trust others,” said Pleterski, 27, his words barely audible in the small courtroom as he read from a statement he prepared over the Thanksgiving weekend.
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he → kidnap → weekend
“I cannot sleep at night.
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I → sleep → night
I come to court alone and am being asked to represent myself but all I think about is being locked in a prison for an extended period of time with the same people who kidnapped, beat and threatened me,” he continued.
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he → come → me
He said ongoing safety concerns have kept him from finding steady work, causing “significant financial difficulties” that leave him unable to pay for a lawyer “to defend me against the false allegations.”)
asserted
that → say → allegations
“Whatever opinions people may have of me, my financial affairs or the circumstances that preceded these events, no financial dispute justifies kidnapping, violence or intimidation.”
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dispute → have → kidnapping
When he was finished, Pleterski left the courtroom, leaving Akyeam-Pong sitting in the prisoner’s box.
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Pong → finish → box
But then Thursday’s hearing took an even stranger turn.
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hearing → take → turn
The court heard lawyer Naomi Sayers is facing a criminal charge, after allegedly going to visit Akyeam-Pong in jail — purportedly at the behest of another alleged kidnapper — to pressure him to retract statements he made when he pleaded guilty last year.
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he → hear → statements
Sayers wrote in an email to the Star that it’s premature to answer any questions about the matter “given the outstanding disclosure and the fact that I am still obtaining legal counsel.”
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I → write → counsel
She said she hopes conclusions are not drawn before all the facts are known.
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facts → say → ?
In a sworn affidavit, Akyeam-Pong wrote that he was visited three times by Sayers, who he said asked him to change important parts of the agreed statement of facts, which he realized “would undermine my plea in the Project Crypto case, and potentially expose me to obstruction of justice charges.”
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he → swear → charges
He says she repeatedly told him it was in his “best interest” to sign the document, but he refused.
Akyeam-Pong is represented by lawyers with the firm Lockyer Zaduk Zeeh.
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Pong → say → firm
On Thursday, lawyer Craig Zeeh asked Superior Court Judge Linda Shin to reduce whatever sentence she hands Akyeam-Pong due to jailhouse violence and his safety concerns relating to Sayers’s visits, which Akyeam-Pong wrote “exacerbated my constant fear that I will face retaliation from my co-accused or by someone on his behalf while I am in jail.”
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I → ask → jail
Court documents show Akil Heywood, 42, and Sayers, 40, are charged with attempting to obstruct justice “by trying to persuade Akyeam‑Pong to sign a sworn affidavit that would rewrite the agreed statement of facts from his guilty plea last fall.”
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that → show → plea
Prosecutors allege Heywood, who invested a large sum of money with Pleterski, was the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
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who → allege → kidnapping
His trial, along with two other co-accused, is set to begin next month.
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trial → accuse → accused
He has previously denied any wrongdoing.
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He → deny → wrongdoing
The Star has also learned through court documents that jail officials intercepted two FedEx envelopes addressed to Akyeam‑Pong containing a “revised” version of the facts — one in which he takes sole responsibility for the kidnapping and asserts that Heywood “did not participate in, assist with, or support the kidnapping in any way.”
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Heywood → learn → way
One year ago, Akyeam-Pong admitted he and others abducted Pleterski on Dec. 5, 2022, snatching him off a downtown street.
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he → admit → street
During the ordeal, he was stripped of his belongings and a grocery bag was placed over his head.
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bag → strip → head
His wrists were zip-tied.
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wrists → tie → ?
Eventually, while delivering body and head blows, the captors coerced Pleterski to falsely claim that his landlord held his hidden assets.
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landlord → deliver → assets
He was held in a basement where masked men threatened to inject him with fentanyl.
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men → hold → fentanyl
He was later forced to record a video confessing to stealing money.
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He → force → money
The video, showing Pleterski’s bruised and battered face, was later posted online.
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video → show → face
Mr. Akyeam-Pong told him what to say,” the agreed facts said.
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facts → tell → what
He was released Dec. 8, 2022.
asserted
He → release → ?
Pleterski returns to court Friday for the resumption of his fraud trial in front of Judge Shaun Nakatsuru.
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Pleterski → return → Nakatsuru
The Aporia
