‘Crypto king’ John Woeltz faces courtroom in NYC torture case – NBC New York

A 37-year-old man, identified by some because the “crypto king of Kentucky,” is anticipated to seem in Manhattan courtroom Wednesday on fees he and a enterprise companion kidnapped and tortured an Italian man, holding him captive inside a complicated, six-story townhouse in Nolita for weeks in an try to get the person’s Bitcoin password.

John Woeltz additionally faces fees together with illegal imprisonment and assault. He was arrested in his bathrobe outdoors the Prince Road residence the place he allegedly held the sufferer captive. Woeltz was held with out bond after his weekend arraignment, after which his lawyer didn’t communicate to the media.

The sufferer, an Italian citizen, was one other enterprise companion of Woeltz and William Duplessie, who surrendered a day in the past to face fees within the case, officers say. Investigators consider the connection among the many three males had been tumultuous prior to now, however got here to a head when the Italian arrived early within the month.

After arriving in New York Metropolis on Could 6, Woeltz and Duplessie allegedly took the sufferer’s passport and digital units, then demanded he give them his Bitcoin password. Police say the torture began when the 28-year-old refused to conform.

A second man is ready to face a decide after his arrest in a stunning investigation involving cryptocurrency, kidnapping and torture. William Duplessie surrendered to the NYPD on Tuesday, accused of holding an Italian businessman hostage for weeks in an effort to achieve entry to his Bitcoin accunt. NBC New York’s Marc Santia experiences.

He was sure by his wrists, pistol-whipped, had a gun held to his head, a chainsaw used on his leg and was urinated on. His captors additionally dangled him over a staircase and threatened to kill his household, amongst different coercive measures.

Prosecutors stated the sufferer ultimately did give in, solely escaping when the boys went to search out his laptop. After 17 days of alleged torture by the hands of the “crypto king,” the sufferer managed to get out final Friday.

Police stated they discovered him coated in cuts and bruises, with ligature marks on his wrists from being sure. Video obtained completely by NBC New York confirmed the sufferer, matted and shoeless, operating down Spring Road after breaking free, begging a visitors cop for assist on the nook of Mulberry Road.

Who’s John Woeltz?

Authorities consider Woeltz is a big-name cryptocurrency dealer from Kentucky with an estimated value round $100 million; sources stated the sufferer is value an estimated $30 million. Woeltz had reportedly been renting out the Nolita residence at a month-to-month price of at the least $30,000.

The posh six-story pad has an elevator and was described by sources as a “high-end frat home” with bottles of liquor strewn about and stripper poles within the basement. Neighbors stated they might hear loud partying in any respect hours of the evening, however they’d no thought of the alleged torture happening inside its partitions.

Sources advised Information 4 that Woeltz and Duplessie roughed up the sufferer prior to now, however to not the identical extent. He would get picked on by the opposite two, however their therapy of him was by no means practically as violent. Sources described the connection among the many three as complicated, with a “Wolf of Wall Road/frat guys gone wild” factor to it.