When Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander purchased a 10,000-squade foot mansion on Lake Ontario earlier this year, he and his girlfriend thought it would be their dream home. The stunning $8.4 million (Canadian) estate was everything they wanted and more. Until it wasn’t.
Almost immediately after moving into the home back in May, Gilgeous-Alexander received a visit from a very unwelcomed guest. It was just the latest in a long line of menacing, angry and unwanted guests that date back to the previous owner, self-described “crypto-king” Aiden Pleterski.
Pleterski had filed bankruptcy in 2022 while on the hook for 26.8 million Canadian dollars owed to over 150 clients. And they were all coming to collect.
Before Pleterski was able to flee the home last December, he was even kidnapped by one of the angry investors and four other men. He was tortured and beaten for several days until released.
Pleterski eventually moved out of the home for his own safety, as did several other occupants. The only problem is that when the mansion went up for sale and was ultimately purchased by Gilgeous-Alexander, none of that information was disclosed. The Thunder star and his girlfriend had no idea what they were walking into and they immediately wanted out.
The New York Times reports that a holding company owned by Gilgeous-Alexander has asked a court to reverse the purchase of the Burlington, Ontario home, citing concerns for their own well-being.
The head of a Toronto real estate company who sold the house claims he did not divulge the security concerns because, “any purchaser who could afford to spend in excess of $8 million on a luxury home would value privacy and would also in any case want no part of a property that had a history of threatening visits to the past two occupants.”
No kidding. Who would want to own a property that is under the constant threat of violence from people who had been conned out of millions and millions of dollars?
The angry “visitor” who showed up just two days after Gilgeous-Alexander and his girlfriend moved in was asked to leave but refused. Instead, he took a stroll around the property and sat waiting on the hood of his car as police were called. The operator informed Gilgeous-Alexander’s girlfriend Hailey Summers that they had “had received several reports about threats to the property, including that there was a threat to burn the home down.”
The entire thing seems pretty cut and dry, and it would come as a surprise of Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t receive a favorable ruling.
