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A Manhattan crypto investor is going through severe fees after allegedly kidnapping and torturing an Italian man in a disturbing bid to extract entry to digital belongings.
John Woeltz, 37, was arraigned on Saturday in Manhattan legal court docket following his arrest on Friday. He stands accused of holding a 28-year-old Italian man captive for weeks inside a luxurious townhouse in Soho, reportedly rented for $30,000 per 30 days.
In accordance with police studies cited by The New York Occasions, the sufferer arrived within the US on Could 6 and was allegedly kidnapped by Woeltz and an confederate.
The attackers are mentioned to have stolen the person’s passport and digital units earlier than demanding the password to his Bitcoin (BTC) pockets. When he refused, the suspects allegedly subjected him to extended bodily abuse.
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Crypto sufferer overwhelmed, electroshocked
The sufferer described being overwhelmed, shocked with electrical energy, assaulted with a firearm and even dangled from the higher flooring of the five-story constructing.
He additionally informed police that Woeltz used a noticed to chop his leg and compelled him to smoke crack cocaine. Threats have been additionally reportedly made in opposition to his household.
Photographic proof discovered contained in the property, together with Polaroids, seems to assist claims of sustained abuse. The sufferer managed to flee on Friday and alert authorities, resulting in Woeltz’s arrest.
Woeltz was charged with 4 felony counts, together with kidnapping for ransom, and entered a plea of not responsible. Choose Eric Schumacher ordered him to be held with out bail. He’s anticipated again in court docket on Could 28.
A 24-year-old lady was additionally taken into custody on Friday in reference to the incident. Nonetheless, she was seen strolling freely in New York the subsequent day, and no fees in opposition to her have been discovered within the court docket’s on-line database.
Authorities have but to make clear the connection between the suspect and the sufferer or whether or not any cryptocurrency was in the end stolen.
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Crypto executives flip to bodyguards
Executives and traders within the crypto trade are more and more searching for private safety providers as kidnapping and ransom circumstances surge, particularly in France.
On Could 18, Amsterdam-based personal agency Infinite Dangers Worldwide reported a rise in requests for bodyguards and long-term safety contracts from high-profile figures within the house.
French authorities have responded by introducing enhanced protections for crypto entrepreneurs and their households, together with safety briefings and precedence entry to police help.
This comes amid a current surge in kidnappings and ransom makes an attempt. David Balland, the co-founder of {hardware} pockets firm Ledger, was kidnapped in January 2025 and held for ransom for a number of days earlier than being rescued by French police.
In Could 2024, the daddy of an unnamed crypto entrepreneur was freed from a ransom attempt after French regulation enforcement officers raided the placement in a Paris suburb the place the person was being held hostage by organized criminals.
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