Both Suspects in Crypto Kidnap Case Denied Bail

Both men charged in connection with the alleged kidnapping and torture spree of an Italian tourist—in a bid to obtain his crypto password—have been denied bail by a judge, the Manhattan district attorney’s office confirmed to Straus News.

John Woeltz and William Duplessie brutalized Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan in a Prince Street condo for three weeks, prosecutors say. They face kidnapping, assault, and unlawful imprisonment charges.

Woeltz, 37, was ordered to surrender his passport and remained in custody on May 29. The indictment will remain under seal until a June 11 arrangement. The other defendant, 33-year-old William Duplessie, was arrested on May 27. Woeltz was taken into custody at the condominium building on May 23.

Woeltz’s defense attorney reportedly sought his release on a $2-million bond, citing the fact that he has a philosophy degree, among other things.

A 24-year-old woman named Beatrice Folchi was also initially arrested and charged in connection with the attacks, before prosecutors dismissed those charges pending further investigation.

Prosecutors say that Woeltz and Duplessie were renting out the eight-unit luxury building on Prince Street when they “lured” the 28-year-old Carturan to New York, telling him that if he didn’t hand over access to his Bitcoin wallet, they would kill his family. When Carturan arrived at the townhouse, they allegedly took his electronics and phone away, before tying his wrists down. They also tied an air-tag device, which can be tracked digitally, around his neck with a wire, according to prosecutors.

Over the next three weeks, Woeltz and Duplessie then subjected Carturan to a barrage of physical and psychological violence in an attempt to obtain his “wallet” password, prosecutors say: shocking him with electric wires, hitting him across the head with a gun, threateningly pointing the gun at his head, urinating on him, attacking his leg with a saw, and forcing him to smoke crack-cocaine.

At one point, Woeltz and Duplessie allegedly dangled Carturan headfirst over a high ledge. They even reportedly printed photographs of Carturan smoking crack onto custom-made T-shirts, which were recovered along with military gear the two men had reportedly stashed in the apartment, including ballistic helmets and night-vision googles.

Carturan managed to make his escape after telling Woeltz that he would provide the password to the wallet, prosecutors say, leading Woeltz to leave the room to retrieve Carturan’s laptop. With Woeltz briefly out of sight, the battered and shoeless Carturan managed to flee the Nolita building, then approaching a responsive traffic agent who called 911. Woeltz was taken into custody at the scene.

Woeltz, an entrepreneur who has been called the “crypto king of Kentucky,” reportedly knew Carturan via the industry. Woeltz apparently has a net worth of around $100 million, while Carturan is a “crypto millionaire.” Duplessie founded the crypto companies Pangea Digital Asset Group and Pangea Blockchain Fund, and apparently liked to party with Woeltz at an erotic nightclub on Chrystie Street called The Box, according to TMZ, which reported that the two men could spend between $80,000 and $100,000 a night there.

In an added wrinkle, the NYPD revealed on May 29 that two of its detectives had served as private security for Woeltz and Duplessie, after they had clocked out of their police shifts. They have been placed on desk duty pending an internal investigation, the NYPD says, as they had reportedly not received prior authorization from the department to do so.

CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, the headline of this story ran as: “Both Suspects in Crypto Kidnap Killing Case Denied Bail.” As the story itself correctly stated, prosecutors say that the allegedly kidnapped Italian tourist survived (and escaped from) his three-week ordeal. Both suspects were arrested and face felony kidnapping charges.