- Prosecutors unsealed indictments against John Woeltz and William Duplessie on Wednesday.
- The pair allegedly tortured a man for his Bitcoin.
- They face 12 charges, including assaulting the man with a chainsaw.
- The case is part of a global wave of crypto kidnappings.
On Wednesday, prosecutors unsealed indictments against crypto executives John Woeltz and William Duplessie, who are accused of kidnapping a former partner and torturing him for almost three weeks in a posh New York townhouse.
A grand jury has charged the pair with three counts of kidnapping, criminal possession of a weapon, six counts of assault, coercion, and attempted grand larceny.
Between May 6 and May 23, Woeltz, 37, and Duplessie, 33, kidnapped and assaulted a man using a pistol, a chainsaw, and a cattle prod, according to the indictment.
Woeltz and Duplessie pleaded not guilty on Wednesday and were ordered held in custody until their next court date on July 15, according to the Associated Press.
The shocking allegations mark the latest episode in a crypto-fuelled kidnapping wave sweeping the globe.
Beatings, shocks and threats
According to police and news reports, the two men lured 27-year-old Italian crypto entrepreneur Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan to a luxe, five-story townhouse in Manhattan’s NoLita neighbourhood.
There, they allegedly took his passport and electronic devices, bound him, and tortured him for his “Bitcoin password.”
The alleged torment included beatings, shocking with electrical wires, pointing a gun at Carturan’s head, and dangling him from a flight of stairs inside the building. The two men told Carturan they would kill him and his family if he didn’t hand over access to his Bitcoin, according to police reports.
Surveillance video broadcast by NBC New York shows Carturan barefoot, bruised, clad in black shorts and a black shirt, approaching an officer at a nearby intersection and asking for help.
On Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Sarah Khan said the three men had been friends and business partners for years, and that Carturan had introduced Woeltz and Duplessie to each other, according to a summary of her comments shared by a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s office.
A few months ago, Carturan met with Woeltz and Duplessie, who persuaded the Italian to hand over the passkey to one of his crypto accounts, Khan said.
They later convinced him to meet in New York, saying they would return his Bitcoin, according to Khan. Though that didn’t happen, the prosecutor said, Carturan returned again on May 6 and was held captive and pressed to give access to other crypto accounts.
Among other torments, Woeltz and Duplessie pistol whipped Carturan and cut him with a small chainsaw, Khan said.
But Woeltz and Duplessie’s lawyers said on Wednesday they had video evidence showing Carturan laughing and moving freely in and out of the NoLita townhouse during his alleged captivity, according to the Associated Press.
Khan said supposedly exculpatory videos and photos were staged and that Caturan couldn’t leave the house without a guard.
When he finally shared access to one of his crypto accounts, Caturan fled while his former business partners went to get one of his electronic devices, according to the prosecutor.
Police found a loaded gun, a chainsaw, and photos showing Caturan’s alleged kidnappers pointing a gun at his head, Khan said. The victim was treated at a hospital, and his injuries were consistent with the torture he had described, she added.
Global problem
Adding intrigue to the case, two New York police officers, including one serving on Mayor Eric Adams’ security detail, are being investigated in connection with the case, according to news reports.
Roberto Cordero, the officer on the mayor’s security detail, allegedly brought the victim from the airport to the NoLita townhouse. Both officers have been placed on modified duty.
A spate of crypto kidnappings in France have demonstrated that criminals see crypto entrepreneurs and their digital assets as relatively easy targets.
In January, the abduction of David Balland, a co-founder of the cryptocurrency wallet provider Ledger, shocked the industry when the kidnappers chopped one of his fingers.
And in May, Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement cooperation group, busted an organised crime group allegedly tied to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel that was using cryptocurrencies to facilitate drug trafficking.
Aleks Gilbert is DL News’ New York-based DeFi correspondent. You can reach him at aleks@dlnews.com.