Ontario ‘Crypto King’ was ‘just a thief,’ Crown closes. I’d prove my innocence if I had a lawyer, Pleterski tells his jury - Toronto Star

'He was no king at all, he was just a thief, a thief who stole investor money and used it as he pleased.'

‘Crypto King’ Aiden Pleterski has pleaded not guilty to defrauding investors and money laundering.

Aiden Pleterski was no ”Crypto King,” but simply a thief who defrauded investors to bankroll a lavish lifestyle of exotic cars and jet travel, the Crown told a Toronto jury in a blistering closing argument on Wednesday. 

The self-represented Pleterski, however, had little to say when Superior Court Justice Shaun Nakatsuru asked if he wanted to deliver a closing address.

Pleterski thanked jurors and told them he is the “least qualified person here to be giving a closing statement.” But, he added, he is innocent.

“That is why I pled not guilty,” he said, standing behind a podium facing the jury box, wearing a grey suit as he has throughout the trial.

“Had I not been forced to represent myself, I know that could have been proven. That’s all I have to say.”

The reasons explaining why the 27-year-old does not have a lawyer remain covered under a publication ban until the jury is sequestered; the jury is expected to begin deliberations Thursday.

In his closing address, prosecutor Akshay Aurora reviewed evidence heard during the trial that began Oct. 6.

During the two‑hour, emotionally charged meeting, the investors berated Aiden Pleterski over the lives they said he ‘ruined.’