Latest news with #Irwin-Cline
NDTV
27-05-2025
- NDTV
How A Cigarette In A London Uber Cost This US Man Rs 1 Crore
A US techie was allegedly drugged and robbed of over Rs 1 crore worth of cryptocurrency in London by a man posing as an Uber driver. Jacob Irwin-Cline, 30, a former software engineer from Portland, Oregon, was on a two-day layover in London en route to Spain when the incident occurred. "I lost $123,000 dollars in crypto and assets," Mr Irwin-Cline told British outlet MyLondon. "They took the majority of my wealth." It all began around 1:30 am on May 9 after a night out at a Soho nightclub. As he stepped outside, a man called out his name, appearing to match the profile of his booked Uber. Trusting it was his ride, Mr Irwin-Cline sat inside the car without verifying the car model or license plate. Once inside, the driver offered him a cigarette, which he accepted. Soon after smoking it, he began feeling "really docile" and drowsy, symptoms he suspects were caused by scopolamine, a powerful sedative often used in crimes to make victims compliant. "There was definitely some sort of drug in the cigarette. I passed out for what I assumed to be 20 to 30 minutes," he recalled. In a semi-conscious state, he handed over his phone and passwords. He said the driver then dumped him in a "weird part" of London and hit him with the car before speeding off. "I vaguely remember going through applications a bit. He got a couple of passkeys from me to enter applications," Mr Irwin-Cline said. The techie left without his phone, and managed to stumble back to his hostel, only to find that his laptop had been remotely wiped and he was locked out of his financial accounts. When he finally regained access, he discovered that his crypto wallets had been emptied. He reported the incident to British police. So far, no recovery of funds or arrests have been reported. "It's virtually impossible to get that money back unless some weird miracle happened," Mr Irwin-Cline said. His case comes amid a rising number of violent crimes targeting cryptocurrency holders around the world. Three days ago, Italian crypto investor Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan was reportedly kidnapped and tortured in New York City. His alleged captors, including Kentucky crypto investor John Woeltz, demanded access to his Bitcoin holdings. Mr Carturan was tied to a chair, electrocuted while his feet were in a bucket of water, urinated on, pistol-whipped, and even had his limbs cut with a chainsaw before escaping when the kidnappers were distracted.
New York Post
26-05-2025
- New York Post
US tech whiz allegedly drugged by bogus London Uber driver who stole $123K in crypto: ‘They took the majority of my wealth'
A night out in London took a dark turn for an Oregon tech whiz who claimed he was drugged by a bogus Uber driver who later drained $123,000 from his crypto accounts. Jacob Irwin-Cline, 30, was on a two-day layover en route to visit family in Spain when he woke up disoriented and financially devastated after getting into what he believed was his rideshare outside a Soho nightclub around 1:30 a.m. on May 9, MyLondon reported. 'I lost $123,000 dollars in crypto and assets,' Irwin-Cline, a former software engineer, told the British outlet of the terrifying ordeal. Advertisement 4 Jacob Irwin-Cline, 30, said he was drugged by a faux Uber driver who stole thousands in crypto. Tony Kershaw / SWNS 'They took the majority of my wealth.' The unsuspecting crypto investor said he hopped into the car — without double-checking the model or license plate — after the 'super chill' driver, who seemed to match the Uber profile, called out his name. Advertisement The Portland man then accepted a cigarette from the driver and soon began feeling unusually dazed and drowsy — later suspecting it had been laced with a powerful sedative known as scopolamine, the outlet reported. 'I remember being really docile,' Irwin-Cline recounted, adding that he was in a foggy, semi-conscious state when he handed his phone and passcodes over to the phony chauffeur, who later dumped him in a 'weird part' of London and struck him with the car before speeding off. 4 Cline said the brazen theft happened after a night out in London on May 9. Jacob Irwin-Cline / SWNS 'I vaguely remember going through applications a bit. He got a couple of passkeys from me to enter applications. There was definitely some sort of drug in the cigarette. I passed out for what I assumed to be 20 to 30 minutes.' Advertisement The techie, without his phone, stumbled back to his hostel only to discover that his laptop had been remotely wiped and he was locked out of his financial accounts. When Irwin-Cline regained access, he was shocked to find that the large sum had vanished, the outlet reported. 4 He claimed the rideshare driver gave him a drug-laced cigarette before swiping his phone and passcodes. REUTERS Irwin-Cline, who reported the chilling incident to British police, has since accepted that the stolen funds are gone for good. 'It's virtually impossible to get that money back unless some weird miracle happened — taking down that ring and getting these wallets back,' he explained, sharing his concern for other potential victims. Advertisement 'It sucks man. I'm alive, and that's honestly — I was not stoked at first — but that's definitely the more important thing. Money will come and go. It's just really strange. I'm just worried guys will keep getting away with it. He probably made enough money that he will not have to do this again for a while.' 4 'It's virtually impossible to get that money back,' Cline said. Tony Kershaw / SWNS The brazen heist transpired just days after Kentucky crypto king John Woeltz allegedly kidnapped and tortured by wealthy Italian trader Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan for his Bitcoin password at a ritzy townhouse in Manhattan. The Italian national, who is reportedly worth $30 million, was lured to the Big Apple pad on May 6 and held captive while his tormentors unleashed a litany of horrific tortures, according to sources. Carturan was tied to a chair and tasered while his feet were in a bucket of water, urinated on, pistol-whipped and had his arms and legs cut with a chainsaw before he was finally able to escape Friday when his captors were distracted, law-enforcement sources said. Police have arrested three people, including Woeltz, allegedly connected to the vicious ordeal.
Metro
26-05-2025
- Metro
Crypto boss 'chained up and electrocuted man before taunting him with chainsaw'
A cryptocurrency boss worth £73,000,000 has been accused of chaining up, electrocuting and 'torturing' an Italian tourist for weeks. 37-year-old John Woeltz was arrested in New York after the victim managed to escape the high-end Soho apartment he was being held in and find a police officer. Woeltz has been accused of helping lure tourists like Carturan to New York before torturing them to get access to their lucrative cryptocurrency accounts. Police said the tourist met Woeltz on May 6 and went back to his townhouse in Soho before Woeltz snatched the Italian's passport. The man said he was dangled from the top of a five-storey stairwell, tasered with his feet in water, pistol-whipped, and threatened to have his legs cut off with a chainsaw if he didn't give Woeltz access to his cryptocurrency accounts. The torture was documented on a Polaroid camera. Police found photos of the victim strapped to a chair. Woeltz has been charged with assault and unlawful imprisonment, but denies any wrongdoing. His family has claimed he is 'kind, caring and loving' – but 'controlled by other people'. A relative told the New York Post: 'He was hijacked and manipulated and scammed. I think they stole his money as well.' After the victim managed to escape the so-called 'house of horrors' where he was being held, he waved a nearby police officer over and was taken to the hospital. Woeltz was arrested shortly after. Witnesses said a SWAT team descended upon the high-end residence to arrest the crypto boss. The luxury apartment where Woeltz was staying – and tortured his victim – charges $75,000 each month. It's the latest incident of violence related to cryptocurrency. In February, three British men in Spain were arrested over the kidnapping of another cryptocurrency broker. The victim had agreed to get drinks at an apartment in Costa-del-Sol. Once there, he was told to hand over 30,000 Euros (£25,000) in cryptocurrency from his customers' accounts or be tortured and killed. More Trending Another man, Jacob Irwin-Cline, from Portland, Oregon, claimed had over $120,000 in cryptocurrency stolen after being abducted and 'drugged' by a man he thought was his Uber driver in London. After smoking the cigarette his driver offered him, Irwin-Cline said he fell unconscious for the next half an hour. When he came to – still feeling the effects of what he believed was a powerful drug nicknamed 'Devil's Breath' – Irwin-Cline left the car and discovered his phone was missing. After gaining access to his accounts again, the software developer discovered his cryptocurrency accounts had been 'wiped' of his life savings of more than $120,000. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: British woman, 21, locked up in Dubai over drugs charges after moving for new job MORE: Huge fire engulfs £4,500,000 Grade II mansion on Millionaires' Row MORE: Here's how you can protect yourself from being scammed with deepfakes
