Aiden Pleterski, the 27-year-old Ontario man who styled himself Canada's "Crypto King," will represent himself at a four-week Toronto jury trial beginning Monday, after Ontario Superior Court Justice Shaun Nakatsuru denied his application to postpone the proceeding so he could retain counsel.

Nakatsuru refused the adjournment on Monday, according to CBC News, and offered no reasons for the decision. The trial dates were fixed in June 2025. Pleterski faces charges of fraud over $5,000 and laundering the proceeds of crime.

"I want to assure you that even though this isn't your first choice, obviously, you will receive a fair trial," Nakatsuru told Pleterski. "I want you to be very free in asking questions. Don't hesitate, just get up on your feet and ask me."

The judge said he will take an "enhanced role" in the proceedings, raising objections on Pleterski's behalf so that only admissible evidence reaches the jury — an unusual arrangement that effectively shifts part of the defence function to the bench while Pleterski conducts his own cross-examinations.

Failed bid for counsel

Pleterski did retain a lawyer for the adjournment application itself. Defence counsel Marco Sciarra argued his client had been trying to raise money for trial counsel and that extended family members were prepared to liquidate assets to fund a defence if the case were delayed. Neither the relatives nor the assets were identified to the court.

Crown attorney Scott Patterson seized on that gap, arguing Pleterski had not been "honest and genuine with his attempts to obtain counsel."

Pleterski has denied the allegations, which have not been proven in court.

Largest fraud investigation in Durham police history

Police charged Pleterski in May 2024 following a joint investigation by Durham Regional Police and the Ontario Securities Commission — an inquiry the force described as its largest fraud investigation. An associate, Colin Murphy, faces one count of fraud over $5,000. Murphy spent five months in jail early last year for contempt after refusing to hand over his iPhone during a civil search and then wiping it; a court released him in March pending appeal.

The criminal case stems from investor losses of roughly $40 million. Investors forced Pleterski into bankruptcy in the summer of 2022 as they tried to recover funds they had given him to trade cryptocurrency and foreign exchange. Those bankruptcy proceedings have returned about $3 million to some 160 investors.

Grant Thornton, the bankruptcy trustee, found Pleterski had invested less than 2% of the money entrusted to him while spending nearly $16 million on personal expenses — a finding Pleterski disputes. If the figure holds up in criminal proceedings, it would place the case among the largest retail crypto investment frauds prosecuted in Canada.

The affair also turned violent. Men demanding money Pleterski no longer held kidnapped and tortured him in late 2022, holding him for a $3 million ransom. One of those charged in the abduction pleaded guilty last year.

What comes next

The trial is scheduled to run four weeks before a Toronto jury. With no defence counsel and the judge assuming an active gatekeeping role, proceedings will test how a self-represented accused manages cross-examination in one of Canada's most closely watched crypto fraud cases. A verdict, or at minimum substantial evidence on the trustee's findings, should emerge by the time the jury concludes its deliberations.