Two men face life in prison after pleading not guilty to a brutal kidnapping in New York’s SoHo, where a crypto investor was tortured for his Bitcoin password over three weeks.
Manhattan Crypto Kidnapping Case Unfolds in Court as Defendants Deny Charges
Two men accused of abducting and torturing a cryptocurrency investor in a high-profile Manhattan case have pleaded not guilty to a string of serious charges that could result in life sentences if convicted.
John Woeltz, 37, and William Duplessie, 33, entered their pleas in Manhattan Criminal Court on June 11 in connection with a disturbing three-week ordeal that allegedly took place in the upscale SoHo neighbourhood. Both have been in custody since their arrests in May and will remain detained without bail until their next court appearance on July 15, as ordered by Justice Gregory Carro.
According to prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, the two men forcibly detained the victim in a luxury townhouse beginning on May 6. The assailants allegedly stole his electronic devices and demanded access to his cryptocurrency holdings by forcing him to reveal his Bitcoin password.
When the victim refused to comply, court documents say the situation escalated into a harrowing sequence of violent attacks. “Duplessie and Woeltz tied the man’s wrists, hit him on the head with a gun and threatened to kill his family,” prosecutors stated in the criminal complaints.
The complaints also detail how the victim was subjected to electric shocks and was even dangled over a staircase as part of the suspects’ attempts to coerce the password out of him. After enduring weeks of abuse, the man eventually managed to escape and alert authorities.
Local media reports, including accounts from The New York Times, identified Woeltz as a known cryptocurrency investor. The victim, described as an Italian national, reportedly had connections to a New York-based crypto hedge fund, according to an internal police report cited by law enforcement sources.
At the June 11 court appearance, Duplessie was seen conferring with his attorney, Sanford Talkin, as both he and Woeltz maintained their innocence.
The case has shocked even seasoned observers of crypto-related crimes, not only because of the brutality involved but also due to the growing intersection between digital finance and physical violence. With cryptocurrency continuing to attract global investment and attention, this case highlights the dark extremes some are allegedly willing to go to for access to digital wealth.
