Third suspect arrested after man was kidnapped and tortured for bitcoin
May 27, 2025
So-called “wrench attacks” are more common as bitcoin’s value increases, reports say.
Police have arrested a third suspect linked to one of the most extreme bitcoin-related kidnapping and torture cases in the United States, The New York Times reported.
The arrest came after an Italian man, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, escaped a luxury Manhattan townhouse after three weeks of alleged imprisonment.
Running to a traffic agent for help, he later told police that he was tortured by colleagues for his bitcoin password, “bound with electrical cords and whipped with a gun,” his feet submerged in water while a Taser gun sent jolts through his body, the NYT reported. At times he feared for his life—allegedly once held suspended from the ledge of the fifth-story building—but he seemingly never gave up his password, a resistance that only prompted more extreme violence.
Police raided the townhouse and found photos depicting the torture, as well as “several guns, a ballistic vest, and broken furniture,” the NYT reported. Two butlers onsite agreed to be interviewed. Cops soon after arrested two suspects—John Woeltz, 37, and Beatrice Folchi, 24—but were still seeking an “unapprehended male,” the NYT previously reported. Folchi was released after her prosecution was deferred, but Woeltz was held without bail after being charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a gun, the NYT reported.
On Tuesday morning, 33-year-old William Duplessie surrendered to police after days of negotiations, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told the NYT. Like Woeltz, he faces charges of kidnapping and false imprisonment, Tisch confirmed.
According to Carturan, he met Woeltz through a crypto hedge fund in New York, but they quickly had a falling out over money, prompting Carturan to return home to Italy.
But Woeltz apparently convinced Carturan to come back to New York, inviting him to the townhouse, where Carturan alleged he was immediately assaulted by Woeltz and Duplessie. Stealing his electronic devices, they hoped to swipe millions in bitcoin, Carturan alleged, by torturing him and threatening to do the same to his family.
As police mount their case against Woeltz and Duplessie, several outlets report that these so-called “wrench attacks”—where bad actors physically attack cryptocurrency holders as brutally as possible to get access to their wallets—are increasingly common globally.
As cryptocurrency holders fear online hacks, a growing trend of storing wallet keys on physical devices that cannot be hacked is likely driving the assaults, experts suggest. As bitcoin’s value has recently hit record highs, it has only further incentivized the thefts. Sometimes criminals locate targets through data breaches targeting cryptocurrency exchanges, the WSJ noted.
Earlier this month, Ars noted at least five crypto-related abductions, some involving severed fingers, over a few months in France, as well as cases where family members were targeted. Some cases appear to be related, The Wall Street Journal reported, including a Florida man suspected of leading a criminal ring intent on robbing cryptocurrency riches through a string of home invasions across multiple states. Some criminals are so bold as to attempt assaults using toy guns, the WSJ noted.
Duplessie “has connections to Switzerland and Miami,” the NYT reported, but not much else is known about his involvement. Woeltz was apparently well-known in certain US crypto circles. He once served as managing director of Silicon River Capital, an investment fund focused on blockchain technology. And currently, he is an advisor to a Kentucky state office of technology working group, helping lawmakers “use block chain technology to protect natural gas pipelines, telecommunications and other infrastructure,” the NYT reported.
Search
RECENT PRESS RELEASES
Related Post
