365Crypto
A Manhattan crypto investor has been charged after allegedly kidnapping and torturing an Italian man to get his Bitcoin password.
The suspect, John Woeltz, was arrested Friday and arraigned the next day. Prosecutors say he held a 28-year-old Italian man hostage inside a fancy $30,000-a-month townhouse in Soho.
The victim arrived in the U.S. on May 6. Police say Woeltz and another person snatched his passport and electronics, then demanded access to his crypto wallet.
When the man didn’t cooperate, things got dark. According to reports, he was beaten, shocked with electricity, threatened with a gun, and even dangled from an upper floor.
The victim said Woeltz used a saw on his leg and forced him to smoke crack. They even threatened his family.
Photos found in the townhouse backed up the abuse claims. Luckily, the victim escaped last Friday and called the police.
Woeltz now faces four felony charges, including kidnapping for ransom. He pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail. He’s due back in court on May 28.
A 24-year-old woman was also arrested but appears to be walking free. Her exact role remains unclear, and no charges have been filed against her yet.
Police haven’t said if any crypto was stolen or what the relationship was between the two men.
🛡️ Crypto crimes like this are making investors nervous. Some are hiring bodyguards. French crypto execs, in particular, are boosting their personal security.
In January, Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped and later rescued. In another case, French police freed the father of a crypto entrepreneur from kidnappers in a Paris suburb.
Bitcoin wallet: A digital place where cryptocurrency is stored. Think of it like a bank account, but for crypto.
Ransom: Money demanded for the release of a person or property.
