Aiden Pleterski, the 27-year-old Ontario man who styled himself Canada's “Crypto King,” will defend himself against fraud and money laundering charges at a Toronto jury trial beginning Monday, after a judge refused to postpone the case so he could hire a lawyer.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Shaun Nakatsuru denied Pleterski's adjournment application on Monday, CBC News reported, leaving the self-represented defendant to face a four-week trial whose dates were fixed in June 2025. Pleterski is charged with 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 him. “I want you to be very free in asking questions,” the judge said, adding, “Don't hesitate, just get up on your feet and ask me.”

Nakatsuru said he would take on an “enhanced role” as a result, telling Pleterski he would raise objections on his behalf so that only admissible evidence reaches the jury. Self-represented accused must question witnesses and argue legal issues without counsel, which is why the judge pledged to step in on admissibility questions.

A last-minute attempt to delay

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

Crown attorney Scott Patterson seized on that omission, arguing Pleterski had not been “honest and genuine with his attempts to obtain counsel.” The judge gave no reasons for his refusal. Under Canadian criminal procedure, adjournments rest with the presiding judge's discretion, and an accused's efforts to retain counsel ahead of fixed trial dates are among the considerations courts weigh.

Charges from a joint police and securities regulator investigation

Pleterski was charged in May 2024 with fraud over $5,000 and laundering the proceeds of crime following a joint investigation by Durham Regional Police and the Ontario Securities Commission, the provincial regulator for Ontario's capital markets, that the police force called its largest fraud inquiry.

An associate, Colin Murphy, was charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Murphy had been jailed for five months that February for contempt after refusing to hand over his iPhone during a civil search and then wiping it; he was released in March pending appeal.

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

Bankruptcy findings

Pleterski was forced into bankruptcy in the summer of 2022 by investors seeking to recover roughly $40 million they had given him to trade cryptocurrency and foreign exchange. Those proceedings returned about $3 million to some 160 investors. Bankruptcy proceedings are civil matters, distinct from the criminal charges now before the jury.

The trustee, Grant Thornton, found that he had invested less than 2% of the money while spending nearly $16 million on himself, a finding Pleterski disputes.

Kidnapping case

Pleterski was kidnapped and tortured in late 2022, held for a $3 million ransom by men demanding money he no longer had. One of those charged in the abduction pleaded guilty last year.