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Aiden Pleterski, the Canadian crypto investor who calls himself the Crypto King, told an Ontario court on Friday that kidnappers beat him, held him at gunpoint and waterboarded him during an alleged three-day abduction in Toronto in December 2022.
He said he recognised the voice of a former investor, Akil Heywood, on a call during the ordeal. Heywood and two other men have pleaded not guilty.
During his testimony, Pleterski described the fear he experienced while allegedly being held captive.
“[I was] very scared, scared I’m going to die, scared for my life, in survival mode essentially,” Pleterski told the court.
Prosecutors played a 13-second video showing him on his knees while a man pointed a firearm at him and counted down from three. Before reaching one, the man appeared to fire the weapon beside Pleterski’s head.
Pleterski said the gunshot left his left ear ringing and that he initially could not determine whether he had been shot.
“It didn’t hit me, but I know it was very loud and there was a constant ringing in my left ear,” he testified. “When he shot the firearm I didn’t know if I was shot or not.”
According to his account, the incident happened during a series of violent encounters after he was picked up in downtown Toronto on December 5, 2022.
Pleterski testified that a man he knew as “Slime” had arranged to meet him under the pretext of discussing cryptocurrency conversions. However, after he entered a Dodge Ram truck, the man allegedly pulled out a gun.
He said Henry was seated beside him with another firearm, while Paladino was driving. Pleterski testified that he was restrained with zip ties and had reusable garbage bags placed over his head at different points.
A central part of the testimony concerned Akil Heywood, whom prosecutors have accused of being the driving force behind the alleged kidnapping.
Pleterski told the court that he recognised Heywood’s voice during a telephone conversation between one of his alleged captors and another person.
He testified that Heywood demanded his money and threatened his life.
“You’re either going to pay with your money or you’re going to pay with your life,” Pleterski recounted hearing during the call.
According to Pleterski, Heywood had invested between $300,000 and $400,000 in his business and began demanding repayment through threatening messages and telephone calls in 2022.
He also told the court that Heywood had been appointed as one of five creditor inspectors overseeing his bankruptcy proceedings.
The prosecution alleges that Heywood helped organise the abduction, while Paladino and Henry participated alongside another man who is not among the three defendants currently standing trial.
Pleterski identified all three accused men in court as prosecutors walked him through the events surrounding the alleged kidnapping.
Pleterski also described being subjected to waterboarding during the early hours of December 6, 2022.
He testified that one of the alleged kidnappers asked whether he preferred gas or water before the men restrained him across the tailgate of the truck.
According to his account, Henry held a towel over his face while “Slime” poured water over it, with Paladino allegedly holding him down.
“I couldn’t breathe at all,” Pleterski told the court. “It actually felt like I was drowning. I could feel water entering my lungs.”
He said the men eventually ran out of water and left him cold and soaked in the truck before driving for another 20 to 30 minutes.
Pleterski testified that he was later taken to a house in Pickering, where he was brought into a basement and encountered several other masked men.
He alleged that the men threatened him and recorded a video in which he was instructed to explain what happened to the money he had received from investors.
The footage, which was also played during the proceedings, showed a visibly beaten Pleterski apologising to investors.
“I’m sorry, I really am. I didn’t want to, or mean to, ruin anybody’s life. I know some people’s lives have been ruined by this,” he said in the recording.
The kidnapping trial is unfolding against the background of Pleterski’s separate financial misconduct case.
In October 2026, Pleterski was convicted of fraud connected to more than C$30 million he received from investors to trade on their behalf. He has yet to be sentenced in that matter.
The prosecution’s case in the kidnapping trial includes testimony from Pleterski’s former landlord, Sandeep Gupta, who previously told the court about a telephone call in which Pleterski allegedly requested between $2 million and $3 million.
Gupta testified that he contacted emergency services during the conversation because he believed Pleterski was being held against his will. Pleterski later explained that he did not directly tell Gupta he had been kidnapped because he feared the men would kill him.
Gupta has denied involvement in Pleterski’s investment scheme and rejected allegations that he was hiding the former investor’s assets.
The trial is expected to resume on Monday, November 16, with Pleterski continuing his testimony.
The court proceedings will determine whether the three defendants are guilty of the kidnapping and extortion charges. The allegations remain unproven, and all three men are entitled to the presumption of innocence.
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