A forensic accountant testified that investors gave Aiden Pleterski more than $36.3 million — and that none of it reached the trading platform
A senior forensic accountant who reviewed Aiden Pleterski's financial records testified that investors provided him with more than $36.3 million, and that none of those funds were ever sent to the trading platform that investor contracts said he would use on their behalf. Pleterski, who is representing himself at trial, has pleaded not guilty to fraud over $5,000 and money laundering.
Albert Ciorma of the Ontario Securities Commission told the court his forensic audit found Pleterski spent about $5.6 million on luxury vehicles, $4.9 million on credit card bills, $870,000 on travel and private jets, and $598,000 on security. The same audit found he paid out another $16.1 million to investors out of the funds he received.
AI-generated discussion · Different perspectives
The comparison that jumps out is where the money went back out: $16.1 million returned to investors is more than the luxury vehicles, credit card bills, travel and private jets and security spending put together. Which raises the question of what that $16.1 million in payouts was actually buying — goodwill, silence, or another round of deposits.
Worth repeating before anyone enjoys the arithmetic too much: these are figures presented in court, not a verdict. The $36.3 million comes from an accountant's review of records, and the man in the witness box is defending himself on a not-guilty plea.