Crypto King investor Mitchell Learning told a Toronto jury that he visited Aiden Pleterski’s Burlington mansion in June 2022 after receiving a screenshot and video showing a trading account balance of $311 million. Learning said he wanted to “get proof in person” because he had invested $400,000 with Pleterski. CBC reported on the investor’s account.

Pleterski has pleaded not guilty to fraud over $5,000 and money laundering. The testimony came on the fourth day of his trial, where prosecutors allege he guaranteed investor funds for trading but did not invest them.

Crypto King Investor Recounts Search for Proof

Learning testified that Pleterski was away when he arrived. He said he accessed Pleterski’s email account on a computer and found a message from trading platform FXChoice confirming that an account associated with the supposed $311 million had been “successfully deleted.”

Learning then contacted mutual friends. One friend recorded a video of emails, including statements from another trading platform, Forex.com. The video and the account screenshot were shown to jurors in Ontario Superior Court.

On the video, the friend reacted to a statement that appeared to show an account balance below the amount investors expected. The friend said it looked as though the balance had never been higher than $1,000. Learning testified that the group was examining records after he had sought proof of the investment account.

Learning Describes Pleterski’s Account

Learning said Pleterski later returned and told him that trading had gone well until the summer of 2021, when things “took a turn.” Learning recounted Pleterski’s explanation that an account had reached $40 million around September 2021, then declined. According to Learning’s testimony about that conversation, Pleterski said he made riskier trades while trying to recover losses and then started a Ponzi scheme.

Those remarks were Learning’s account of what Pleterski told him. The CBC report says the Crown alleges Pleterski never invested the money as promised and instead spent it on personal expenses, including exotic cars, private flights, shopping and credit card bills.

For readers following the regulatory context around crypto-related losses, lawmakers’ crypto regulation debate offers a separate account of policy scrutiny. It does not concern Pleterski’s trial.

Phone Call Played in Court

Learning said he recorded a phone call with Pleterski two days after the mansion visit. The 30-minute recording was played in court. In it, Pleterski expressed regret for not being direct when trading went badly and said he would “make it right” and get investors their money back.

Learning told the court he was upset and accused Pleterski of asking him to show others false material and act as a public face for the investment operation. Pleterski chose not to cross-examine Learning, telling the court he could not come up with questions for the witness.

Learning testified that he first gave Pleterski $2,500 to trade in September 2020, and his investment later grew to $400,000. He said he had withdrawn just over a million dollars originally, and later gave some of that money to family and friends who had also invested and were seeking their principal.

The CBC report says Learning also described running errands for Pleterski, including picking up and delivering investors’ bank drafts. He said he was paid $2,000 a week for six weeks for those and similar tasks. He also testified about three trips with Pleterski, including travel to Ohio, Florida and Turks and Caicos.

Other coverage has examined crypto’s broader financial use and institutional crypto trading activity, distinct subjects from the allegations in this case.

Pleterski was arrested in May 2024 after an investigation by Durham Regional Police and the Ontario Securities Commission. The CBC report says nine investors had testified by Friday that they gave Pleterski more than $2 million collectively to trade, and most said they did not get that money back. The trial is expected to continue Tuesday.