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Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Inside billionaire brats' wild bender as they tortured crypto businessman in Manhattan townhouse
The so-called Crypto King of Kentucky and his business partner hosted lavish parties in the luxury Manhattan townhouse where they allegedly tortured a man for weeks. John Woeltz and William Duplessie are accused of kidnapping and torturing an Italian bitcoin investor for 17 days in the basement of a swanky rented SoHo apartment in order to extort his cryptocurrency password. Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan escaped the alleged house of horrors on Friday - bloodied and barefoot - and told police he had been severely beaten, drugged, shocked with electrical wires and threatened with death. Woeltz, 37, started renting the multimillion-dollar townhouse on March 17, paying his landlord between $75,000 and $95,000 per month to reside there, insiders told TMZ. He and Duplessie, 32, intent on climbing the elite Manhattan social ladder, would reportedly host extravagant parties at the residence, offering guests drugs, alcohol and food from NYC hotspots including Blue Ribbon Sushi, Nobu, and Cipriani's. Photographs captured from inside the stunning six-story home show how the pair littered the kitchen with cocaine, empty top shelf liquor bottles, including Don Julio and Greygoose, mixers, disposable vapes, and empty take-out containers. The pair also regularly frequented The Box, an exclusive erotic nightclub in Nolita, with insiders alleging they would send upwards of $100,000 during a night out and often brought women back to the townhouse to continue partying. Police have locked down the property while they carry out their investigation. Officials will not release the home back to its owner until the probe is complete. Woeltz and Duplessie (left) regularly frequented The Box, an exclusive erotic nightclub in Nolita, with insiders alleging they would send upwards of $100,000 during a night out and often brought women back to the townhouse to continue partying Woeltz and Duplessie were 'obnoxious', insiders told TMZ, and even though they despised their company, Manhattan partiers continued to frequent the duo's events due to the free-flowing booze and drugs. The pair, partying like there was no tomorrow, were allegedly trying to find a way in with New York's elite, with their staff working around the clock to get them on the list at the city's best parties and venues. The managed to secure invites to Met Gala after-party and the Save Venice Gala, which was hosted at the Plaza Hotel in April, sources claim. They have been regulars at The Box since February. They started going to the club while they were still living at the five-star Aman New York hotel. Woeltz and Duplessie would visit the establishment between two and four days in a row, with sources telling TMZ that Duplessie would always be shirtless because he 'wanted to act like the man' and 'thought he was in the mafia'. Duplessie would reportedly justify his attire by claiming that people 'wouldn't take him seriously' if he wore a shirt. He was also known to smoke American Spirit cigarettes and drink both Don Julio tequila and champagne straight from the bottle. Once they secured their eight-bedroom SoHo bachelor pad, the business partners hired a promoter to bring women - mostly models - from the club to the apartment, the news outlet reports. Insiders described Duplessie, who they claim convinced Woeltz to relocate to the Big Apple, as the 'male version of Anna Delvey', a convicted fraudster who posed as a wealthy German heiress to access and defraud New York's high society. The alleged torture took place for weeks in the beautiful SoHo home. The apartment was most recently listed for $75,000 a month Insiders described Duplessie, who they claim convinced Woeltz to relocate to the Big Apple, as the 'male version of Anna Delvey', a convicted fraudster who posed as a wealthy German heiress to access and defraud New York's high society Woeltz was arrested on Friday morning after Carturan's dramatic escape that saw him run out of the townhouse bloodied and shoeless and hobble down the busy SoHo street. Cartuan, 28, flagged down a NYPD traffic officer at the intersection of Spring and Mulberry Streets and pleaded for help. The disheveled tourist told the officer he had seized the opportunity to escape after being told it would be his 'death day'. Police said he was covered in bruises, cuts and had ligature marks on his wrists from where he was allegedly bound. Officers converged on the property and Woeltz - whom was dragged out of the building in a white bath robe - on charges of assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a firearm. Duplessie surrendered to police Tuesday. He also faces charges of kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a weapon. An attorney for Duplessie declined to comment on the case. Woeltz's lawyer did not immediately respond to request for comment. Woeltz's glamorous Italian assistant Beatrice Folchi, 24, was also taken into police custody, but later released. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has declined to prosecute pending further investigation. John Woeltz was arrested at the townhome, barefoot and in a white bathrobe, on Friday morning after Carturan's dramatic escape that saw him run out of the townhouse bloodied and shoeless and hobble down the busy SoHo street Authorities said Duplessie and Woeltz lured Cartuan into the townhouse on May 6 with the promise of returning Bitcoin already extorted from him. But when he arrived, Carturan claims he was tortured by the duo. Prosecutors allege he was chained up, electrocuted, pistol-whipped and cut on the leg with a chainsaw in an effort to give up the passwords to his crypto accounts. He was also urinated on, dangled from the home's top flight of stairs and, at one point, forced to smoke from a crack pipe, the prosecution claims. Investigators said they found a trove of evidence inside the property, including Polaroid pictures of Carturan being bound to a chair with a gun pressed to his head. The photos, authorities believe, were likely intended to extort money from either the alleged victim or his family back in Italy. Detectives recovered several torture items from the home, as well as a gun that law enforcement sources told NBC 4 was used to 'inflict fear and pain on the victim'. Investigators also found broken glass, helmets, night vision goggles and a bullet proof vest strewn across the apartment. William Duplessie is walked into Manattan Central Booking on Tuesday after he surrendered to police. He faces charges of kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a weapon Woeltz and Duplessie allegedly threatened to kill the alleged victim's family unless he provided passwords to accounts holding Bitcoin. Believing he would soon be shot, Carturan on Friday told his alleged captors he would give up his password. Prosecutors claim as Woeltz went to retrieve his laptop from another room, the victim fled down the stairs. Carturan was transported to a nearby hospital with 'laceration to his face', 'injury to his wrists consistent with being bound' and various other injuries on his body and head, prosecutors said, describing the victim as having been 'traumatized'. Sources close to the investigation told the news outlet that Woeltz and Duplessie had 'roughed up' Carturan before, but never violently. They would often pick on him, with the insider describing their relationship as 'complex' and having a 'Wolf of Wall Street/frat guys gone wild' vibe. Duplessie and Woeltz are entrepreneurs focused on cryptocurrency. In online profiles, Duplessie is listed as the co-founder and head of sourcing at Pangea Blockchain Fund and an investor in other blockchain-based companies. Woeltz has described himself in interviews as a blockchain investor who spent time in Silicon Valley before becoming involved in Kentucky's burgeoning crypto-mining industry. The episode comes amid a spike in crypto theft, including a recent wave of violence directed at wealthy holders of digital currency. Earlier this month in Paris, the father of a crypto entrepreneur was rescued by police after attackers cut off one of his fingers. In a separate case, criminals tried but failed to abduct a crypto entrepreneur´s daughter off a street in broad daylight. Last August in Danbury, Connecticut, a couple was forced out of their car, beaten and put into a van in a ransom plot targeting their son, who authorities allege was involved in a $240 million crypto heist the week before.
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Traumatized tourist hobbles down street after escaping crypto-king's New York torture lair... as SECOND suspect hands himself in
Surveillance cameras captured the moment an Italian tourist who was kidnapped and tortured inside a luxurious New York City townhouse escaped his captors after more than two weeks in captivity. Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, 28, hobbled down a busy SoHo street on Friday after having ran out of a lavish six-story apartment where he was allegedly chained up, electrocuted and taunted with a chainsaw for 17 days. Carturan, bloodied and shoeless, flagged down a NYPD traffic officer at the intersection of Spring and Mulberry Streets and pleaded for help, NBC 4 reports. The disheveled Italian tourist told the officer he had seized the opportunity to escape after being told it would be his 'death day'. Police said he was covered in bruises, cuts and had ligature marks on his wrists from where he was allegedly bound. Officers converged on the property and arrested John Woeltz, the so-called 'Crypto King of Kentucky ', on charges of assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a firearm. Woeltz, 38, was allegedly part of a group that concocted a sadistic scheme to lure Carturan - who is understood to have been a business partner of Woeltz and his associate William Duplessie - to New York so they could access his crypto account. Duplessie, alongside his lawyers, surrendered himself to police Tuesday morning and is expected to face charges, officials told NBC 4. It is currently unclear what his involvement was in the case. Woeltz's glamorous Italian assistant Beatrice Folchi, 24, was also taken into police custody, but later released. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has declined to prosecute pending further investigation. Police raided Woeltz's residence on Friday after Carturan after claimed to have escaped the house where he alleged he had been held captive since May 6. Investigators said they found a trove of evidence inside the property, including Polaroid pictures of Carturan being tied up and tortured. Detectives recovered several torture items from the home, as well as a gun that law enforcement sources told NBC 4 was used to 'inflict fear and pain on the victim'. Carturan claimed he had been lured to the house by his former business associate, Woeltz, with the promise of returning Bitcoin already extorted from him. But when he arrived, Carturan claims, he was chained up, electrocuted, pistol-whipped and threatened with a chainsaw in an effort to give up the passwords to his crypto accounts. Woeltz and his male 'accomplice' allegedly threatened to kill the alleged victim's family unless he provided passwords to accounts holding Bitcoin. Believing he would soon be shot, Carturan told his alleged captors he would give up his password. Prosecutors claim as Woeltz went to retrieve his laptop from another room, the victim fled down the stairs. Carturan was transported to a nearby hospital with 'laceration to his face', 'injury to his wrists consistent with being bound' and various other injuries on his body and head, prosecutors said, describing the victim as having been 'traumatized'. Sources close to the investigation told the news outlet that Woeltz and Duplessie had 'roughed up' Carturan before, but never violently. They would often pick on him, with the insider describing their relationship as 'complex' and having a 'Wolf of Wall Street/frat guys gone wild' vibe. Police have arrested a group of so-called 'crypto bros' in connection with the case. The gang were alleged to have pistol-whipped Carturan and threatened to sever off his limbs with an electric chainsaw before he pretended to concede his passwords. At one point, they were said to have 'carried the victim to the top flight of stairs of the apartment in the compound and hung the victim over the ledge, after threatening to kill the victim if [he] did not provide the defendant with the victim's Bitcoin password'. Police said the men took Polaroid photographs of themselves torturing him - one showing him bound to a chair with a gun pressed to his head. The photos, authorities believe, were likely intended to extort money from either the alleged victim or his family back in Italy. Investigators also found broken glass, helmets, night vision goggles and a bullet proof vest strewn across the apartment. The men also reportedly forced him into taking drugs - including crack cocaine - and imposed mental torment upon him, repeatedly insisting he would never escape. Prosecutors also allege that he was urinated on during the ordeal, and that his captors slashed his leg. Woeltz, described by police as the renting occupant of the apartment, was dragged out of the building in a white bath robe on Friday morning. Officers found him in an upstairs bathroom. He was charged on Saturday with kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm, according to the Manhattan DA's office. Prosecutors deemed him a flight risk as he owns a private jet and a helicopter. He is being held without bail. Duplessie surrendered himself to the NYPD's Major Case Squad Detectives unit on Tuesday morning. The custody exchange was reportedly expected. Authorities say Duplessie is expected to face charges.
