News/Reuters/Defendants Deny Involvement in High-Profile Bitcoin Kidnapping
John Woeltz, 37, and William Duplessie, 33, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges related to a three-week kidnapping in Manhattan’s wealthy SoHo district. Prosecutors claim the men tortured their victim with electric shocks and physically threatened him to extract his bitcoin password. Both men have been held since their arrest last month and face potential life sentences if found guilty.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, the accused duo seized the man’s electronic devices and password on May 6, then demanded his cryptocurrency password. The victim’s refusal led to a series of brutal assaults spanning three weeks in an upscale townhouse until he found an opportunity to escape.
Court documents reveal that Woeltz and Duplessie bound the victim’s wrists, struck his head with a firearm, and threatened his family’s lives. Justice Gregory Carro has ordered the defendants to remain behind bars without bail until their next hearing, slated for July 15.
Local media outlets have labeled Woeltz as a cryptocurrency investor. The alleged victim, an Italian man, also reportedly had connections to a New York-based crypto hedge fund, according to the New York Times, which cited an internal police report described by a law enforcement official.
The case adds to a growing list of crypto-related kidnappings, with three such incidents reported in France this year alone. The booming prices of bitcoin and other digital currencies in recent years have spawned a class of wealthy investors who may become attractive targets for criminals, security experts warn.
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