A chilling crime thriller unfolding in New York centers around the alleged kidnapping and torture of a wealthy Italian cryptocurrency entrepreneur, who was reportedly held captive for 17 days as his captors tried to force him to surrender access to his bitcoin fortune.
The story, reminiscent of the hedonistic scenes in The Wolf of Wall Street, began in a posh Manhattan nightclub frequented by flashy Wall Street types and new-money elites. It culminated in the early hours of May 23, when a barefoot man approached a police officer near Mulberry and Prince Streets in Soho, claiming he had just escaped from an upscale apartment where he had been held against his will since entering the U.S.
Police responded quickly and arrested 37-year-old John Woeltz—nicknamed “the crypto king of Kentucky” by the tabloids—on charges including kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of weapons. A 24-year-old assistant of Woeltz was also taken into custody but has not been charged with the same offenses.
A second suspect, William Duplessie, 33, founder of Pangea Blockchain International and originally from Miami, surrendered to authorities on Tuesday and faces similar charges. He appeared in court on Friday in a jail-issued uniform.
According to local reports, the victim is Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, an Italian crypto entrepreneur who had traveled to New York on May 6 and visited Woeltz at his $30,000-a-month rented Soho apartment. Once inside, Carturan’s passport and electronic devices were allegedly taken, and he was held hostage by Woeltz and Duplessie.
Carturan reportedly refused to give up his bitcoin passcode, prompting the suspects to torture him, striking him with a rifle and threatening to throw him out a fifth-story window, according to police and media sources.
“He’s a 37-year-old man with no prior criminal record. He’s a college graduate with a degree in philosophy and has been very successful in the tech world,” said Woeltz’s attorney Wayne Ervin Gosnell during a court appearance on Thursday, seeking his client’s release on a $2 million bond. Gosnell disputed media claims about Woeltz’s wealth, stating, “He doesn’t own a private jet or a helicopter.”
Nevertheless, Woeltz’s extravagant lifestyle has been documented by outlets like the New York Post and TMZ, which have published photos of him partying at high-end venues like The Box nightclub. The Soho apartment, now the scene of the alleged crime, was reportedly the site of frequent lavish gatherings.
The case underscores a troubling trend in the crypto world: a rise in targeted kidnappings as the value of bitcoin reaches new highs. Michael Healy, CEO of Station70—a firm focused on cryptocurrency security—said the crypto community has seen an increase in such crimes.
“I think that the frequency and the ruthlessness are increasing,” Healy noted, referencing a prior case involving a U.S. citizen kidnapped in Egypt over crypto holdings.
In the past six to eight months, Healy has observed a notable rise in attacks on known crypto holders and executives. He attributes this spike to bitcoin’s surging value and the ease with which digital wealth can be transferred, once access credentials are obtained.
“Historically, if you wanted to kidnap someone worth millions, and they had the money in a JP Morgan account, it was tough to access,” Healy said. “You couldn’t just go to the bank and pull it out. With crypto, you can—if you get the password.”
