Singh, a prominent real estate developer, testified at Aiden Pleterski’s fraud trial in Toronto, describing how he was initially impressed by the young entrepreneur’s potential in the crypto space. Singh first encountered Pleterski in the spring of 2021 and decided to invest $10,000 in cash. This initial investment led to a series of 22 more contracts between Singh and Pleterski, totaling over $4.5 million within the following ten months.
Most of these investment contracts were supported by wire transfer receipts, ranging from $10,000 to $1.3 million, while a few were noted as paid in cash. Singh’s testimony revealed that he was the largest investor among the 11 Crown witnesses, who collectively entrusted Pleterski with approximately $2.3 million. However, most of these investors claimed they never received any returns on their investments.
Pleterski, who is representing himself in court, faces charges of fraud over $5,000 and money laundering. The prosecution alleges that Pleterski promised to invest the funds but instead used the money for personal expenses, such as luxury cars, private jet flights, extravagant shopping sprees, and high credit card bills.
Singh, introduced to Pleterski by another investor, Akil Heywood, monitored his investment returns through weekly updates on trading activities. By March 2022, Singh calculated substantial gains, indicating his investment had grown to over $26 million. Despite not receiving most of the returns or his initial investment, Singh acknowledged receiving some money back from Pleterski.
As suspicions arose, Singh recorded phone conversations with Pleterski, questioning the origins of the returns. Pleterski claimed to have paid returns from his own funds due to issues with the trading platform, FXChoice. He expressed his efforts to sell assets to fulfill obligations to investors. Singh was also shown a video allegedly depicting over $311 million in the FXChoice account.
Another investor, Mitchell Learning, testified about discovering discrepancies in Pleterski’s accounts and his involvement in a Ponzi scheme. Pleterski admitted to running a Ponzi scheme after substantial losses in trading. The trial is ongoing, with Pleterski expected to continue defending himself against the accusations.
