One man has admitted to kidnapping and torturing Ontario's self-proclaimed "Crypto King," Aiden Pleterski, in a violent December 2022 abduction that has become emblematic of the growing danger crypto holders face from physical attacks.
Deren Akyeam-Pong pleaded guilty Tuesday to nine charges, including kidnapping, assault, and firearms offenses in Ontario Superior Court in Toronto, according to a CBC report.
The plea triggered an immediate adjournment of the trial for his two co-defendants, with no new trial date yet scheduled.
"From my observation, oversharing plays a huge role—it practically paints a target on people's backs," cybercrime consultant David Sehyeon Baek told Decrypt. "When traders or investors show screenshots of big profits or post pictures of new cars bought with crypto, they unknowingly provide open-source intelligence for criminals."
Court documents revealed Pleterski had spent nearly $16 million of investor funds on private jets, vacations, and luxury cars, including Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and McLarens, a lifestyle he openly flaunted.
By early December 2022, Pleterski was abducted and held for three days, during which he called his landlord seeking $3 million for his captors before being released under threat to raise the money and stay silent.
Among those awaiting trial is Akil Heywood, an investor who lost money to Pleterski’s scheme; he faces three kidnapping and two extortion charges, and maintains his innocence.
Co-defendant Alfredo Paladino faces similar kidnapping, extortion, firearm, and assault charges. The charges against both men have yet to be tested in court.
Forced bankruptcy
The kidnapping came months after investors forced Pleterski into bankruptcy in August 2022 while trying to recover more than $40 million they'd given him for crypto and foreign exchange investments.
Pleterski himself faces fraud and money laundering charges related to investor funds, with a trial set for October 2026.
Baek pointed to Pleterski's abduction as one of several high-profile cases demonstrating how "these breadcrumbs translate into real danger," citing "the Bali case involving a Chinese couple whose posts preceded their deaths, and a U.S. influencer who was extorted soon after posting wallet screenshots."
"Oversharing doesn't just show off wealth—it outlines habits and vulnerabilities. To a motivated attacker, that's a roadmap," he said.
In November 2024, WonderFi Technologies CEO Dean Skurka was abducted amid a rise in crypto-related attacks across Canada, with a kidnappers demanding a $1 million CAD ransom that was paid electronically before he was found unharmed in Centennial Park, Etobicoke.
Last month, Keyron Moore received 13 years in prison for a 2022 Toronto-area kidnapping involving torture, sexual assault, and a $1 million Bitcoin demand from a victim identified as A.T., who was abducted outside a Thornhill plaza and confined in a Barrie garage.
Security researcher Jameson Lopp had earlier predicted that 2025 would mark “an all-time high” for such attacks—now already exceeding 52 cases worldwide.
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