Latest news with #MichaelCarturan
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
‘Crypto king of Kentucky' among suspects charged with kidnapping, torture of Italian trader in New York bitcoin theft plot
NEW YORK, May 31 — The latest crime thriller gripping New York is the alleged kidnapping of a wealthy Italian man whose captors attempted to torture the crypto millionaire into giving up his bitcoin password. It began amid the backdrop of wild parties, immortalised in pop culture through films like The Wolf of Wall Street, in a posh Manhattan nightclub where the nouveau riche and flashy Wall Street bros congregate. It ended on the morning of May 23, when a man ran to a police officer near Mulberry and Prince streets in the Soho district of Manhattan. The barefoot man claimed he had just escaped a luxurious apartment where he was held captive for 17 days after entering the United States. Police arrived at the scene and arrested John Woeltz, 37, dubbed 'the crypto king of Kentucky' by tabloids, who is facing charges of kidnapping, criminal possession of weapons, assault and unlawful imprisonment. Woeltz's 24-year-old assistant was also detained but does not face the same charges. A second man, William Duplessie, 33, who is the founder of the startup Pangea Blockchain International, turned himself in on Tuesday and was charged similarly to Woeltz. Duplessie, who originally hails from Miami, appeared in court yesterday wearing a jail uniform. William Duplessie, who faces charges in connection with the alleged torture of Italian crypto millionaire Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, attends his hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on May 30, 2025. — Curtis Means/Pool/AFP pic Philosophy degree According to details reported by local media, the presumed victim is Italian cryptocurrency entrepreneur Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, who visited John Woeltz's rented home — which goes for US$30,000 (RM144,918) a month — upon arriving from Italy on May 6. Once there, Woeltz and Duplessie confiscated his electronic devices and passport, and demanded the access code to his bitcoin assets, police said. After his refusal, the two men allegedly tortured Carturan, striking him with a rifle, pointing the weapon in his face and taking him to the building's fifth floor, where they threatened to throw him out the window, local media reported. 'He's a 37-year-old man with no prior criminal record. He's a college graduate with a degree in philosophy. He has been very successful in the technology world,' Woeltz's lawyer Wayne Ervin Gosnell said during a court hearing Thursday. The defence requested Woeltz's conditional release in the state of New York in exchange for a US$2 million bond. Gosnell also noted that it has been said Woeltz 'owns a private jet, he owns a helicopter. That is not true.' A view shows the Manhattan town house where William Duplessie and John Woeltz allegedly tortured an Italian man for weeks in an attempt to gain access to his cryptocurrency wallet, in New York City May 29, 2025. — Reuters pic Lavish lifestyle Though Woeltz has neither a jet nor a helicopter, he leads an exceedingly lavish lifestyle, according to the New York Post and TMZ, which published racy images of the suspects partying at The Box, a New York nightclub. The Post also mentioned frequent parties at the Soho apartment that is the scene of the alleged kidnapping. In recent months, cases of kidnappings or attempted abductions in the cryptocurrency world have multiplied globally as bitcoin, the most capitalised cryptocurrency, has grown to historical peaks. For Adam Healy, CEO of Station70, a firm specialising in crypto protection, these crimes are not new — he worked on a case years ago when an American traveling to Egypt was kidnapped for his crypto assets. 'I think that the frequency and the ruthlessness is increasing,' Healy said. In the last six to eight months, he has seen 'a significant uptick in those that are known to hold crypto or executives at crypto firms, things along those lines, getting targeted by a wide range of different criminals.' Healy attributed part of the uptick in crime to the rising price of bitcoin. 'It's a bigger target,' he said, and they are boosted by the ease with which massive payloads can be transferred with no oversight — as long as the crypto user can log in. 'Historically, if you wanted to kidnap something that was high net worth and they had, I don't know, ten million dollars in their JP Morgan account, it was kind of hard to get to,' Healy said. 'You couldn't just go to the bank and get a million dollars out.' — AFP
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- 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.
New York Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Another Arrest in Crypto Kidnapping and Torture Case
Good morning. It's Wednesday. Today we'll look at the story of an Italian man who told the police he was kidnapped and tortured in a Manhattan townhouse for the password to his Bitcoin wallet. Three people have been arrested in a cryptocurrency-related torture scheme that sounds like a horror novel: a man tied up inside a luxury townhouse, tormented with electric shocks, carried up five stories and dangled over a ledge. He said his captors had threatened him with death unless he agreed to hand over the password to his Bitcoin wallet, my colleagues Chelsia Rose Marcius and Maia Coleman reported. For nearly three weeks, authorities say, two men, John Woeltz and William Duplessie, held the victim, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, in a 17-room townhouse in the NoLIta neighborhood of Manhattan, with the intent to steal his multimillion-dollar crypto fortune. A third person, Beatrice Folchi, was initially arrested and charged for her role in the scheme, but has since been released. According to an internal police report, Carturan told authorities that his captors had bound his wrists, submerged his feet in water and shocked him with a Taser, and pointed a firearm at his head. Prosecutors said that Woeltz had also threatened Carturan's family, according to a criminal complaint. After Carturan refused to grant them access to his crypto wallet, the captors suspended him over the ledge and threatened to kill him, the complaint said. The episode came to light on Friday morning when Carturan escaped the townhouse and sought the help of a traffic agent nearby. When police officers entered the home, they found Polaroid pictures showing Carturan bound and being assaulted. They also found several guns, a ballistic vest and other items used in the torture, a law enforcement official said. Woeltz, 37, a crypto investor, and Carturan, 28, had ties to a hedge fund in New York, according to the internal police report. But the two men had a falling-out over money, and Carturan flew back to Italy, where he is a citizen. Woeltz persuaded Carturan to return to New York, where Woeltz was renting a townhouse. Upon Carturan's arrival at the NoLIta home on May 6, Woeltz and Folchi, 24, took their visitor's electronic devices and passport, held him captive and tortured him to get the password to his Bitcoin wallet, the report said. On Saturday, Woeltz and Folchi were arrested, and Woeltz was charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a gun. Folchi was initially also charged with kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment, but she was released shortly after and her prosecution was deferred, according to law enforcement. Folchi's connection to Woeltz is not yet clear. On Tuesday, a third person, Duplessie, 33, turned himself in after negotiating his surrender with the police for several days, according to two law enforcement officials briefed on the matter. He is expected to be charged with kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment, Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said Tuesday in an interview. Duplessie has ties to Switzerland and Miami, though it is not clear how he knew Woeltz, Folchi or Carturan. The charges are the latest in a global wave of crypto-related violence targeting executives for the fortunes stored in their digital wallets. France, in particular, has been the site of several attacks on prominent crypto entrepreneurs in recent months. In January, the father of a crypto influencer was found in the trunk of a car, bound and covered in gasoline, after the family was attacked at their home in eastern France, according to French media reports. Expect a cloudy day and rainy afternoon, with a high around 65. In the evening, rain is likely, with a low around 57. In effect until Solemnity of the Ascension (May 29). The latest Metro news Well-worn Dear Diary: A few years ago, my friend Adrienne was in an Upper West Side coffee shop when she looked down into a stroller. Then she looked up at the woman standing with the stroller, who happened to be my babysitter. 'Is that baby named Wyatt?' Our babysitter was surprised. 'Yes,' she replied. 'Why?' 'I thought he must be,' my friend said. 'I knit that sweater for his brother two years ago.' — Sarah Pinneo Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here. Glad we could get together here. We'll see you tomorrow. — T.R. P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here. Stefano Montali and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@ Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
Gizmodo
6 days ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
Another Crypto Investor Arrested in Connection to Bizarre Chainsaw Torture Episode
Yet another white-collar crypto investor has been arrested in connection to a bizarre and violent criminal case involving an Italian crypto millionaire. Last week, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, 28, reportedly broke loose from a ritzy apartment in Manhattan's Nolita neighborhood and alerted a traffic agent to his imprisonment and torture at the home over a period of roughly two weeks. The ordeal he later described to cops sounded like something out of a horror movie: Carturan claimed to have been entrapped in the 17-room townhouse, where he was tied up with electrical tape, pistol whipped, shocked with a taser while his feet were placed in water, and even threatened with a chainsaw. He also claims his captors dangled him off the roof of the building. Police sources say that Carturan's account is largely backed up by Polaroids that were taken of the crimes and left at the scene. The apparent motive for putting Carturan through all of this was to get the key to his crypto account, which was worth millions of dollars, according to a criminal complaint. This week, 33-year-old William Duplessie, of Florida, turned himself in to police for his alleged role in that violent episode, the New York Times reported. He has been described as a crypto investor. Duplessie's arrest follows the arrest of 37-year-old John Woeltz, who was taken into custody last week for his alleged role in the alleged kidnapping and torture of Carturan. Woeltz, described as a crypto investor from Kentucky, was reportedly renting the $30k-a-month apartment where Carturan's grisly ordeal is alleged to have taken place. A 24-year-old woman named Beatrice Folchi was also arrested last week and was similarly charged with kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. However, Folchi was released after the Manhattan DA's Office declined to prosecute her pending further investigation, the New York Post reported. Folchi was later seen out on the streets of New York and denied to reporters that she had been arrested. It's unclear what her exact connection to Woeltz and Duplessie is. She has alternately been described as an 'actress,' a marketing specialist, and Woeltz's assistant. New York Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch subsequently said that Duplessie would be 'charged, with Mr. Woeltz, with kidnapping and false imprisonment of an associate.' A swell of violent crime has swept the crypto community over the past year. Kidnappings, assaults, and murders have targeted high-profile HODLers, as organized (and not so organized) criminal groups have smelled opportunity in the offline holdings of crypto investors.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Second crypto bigwig arrested in tourist bitcoin kidnapping and torture case in New York City
A crypto trader sought in the horrific torture of an Italian tourist in a posh New York City townhouse has surrendered to police — after living it up in the Hamptons over the holiday weekend, law-enforcement sources told New York Post. William Duplessie, 33, of Miami, Florida, showed up at the 13th Precinct in Manhattan around 7.45am on Tuesday (local time), and looked grim as he was hauled off to court in cuffs several hours later. He refused to answer reporters' questions. The suspect - dressed in a long-sleeve white polo shirt, black slacks and loafers with no socks - was charged with assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm, police said. He was sought in the gruesome case after the victim, Italian crypto millionaire Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, broke free from his captors on Friday and tipped off the police. Police had already moved in and busted Kentucky crypto king John Woeltz, who was charged with torturing Mr Carturan for days to try to pry his bitcoin password from him. Police also arrested Mr Woeltz's assistant, Beatrice Folchi, but the 24-year-old was quickly cut loose by the Manhattan DA's Office, which said it was declining to prosecute her pending further investigation. Mr Woeltz and Mr Carturan were tied to a crypto hedge fund based in the Big Apple but had a falling out - prompting the victim to initially return to Italy, according to an internal police report, sources told The Post. But Mr Woeltz then allegedly convinced Mr Carturan to return to New York and, on May 6, imprisoned him in the SoHo townhouse. Mr Carturan, from Turin, Italy, had told his family that he was travelling to the US 'for a trip of tourism and language learning,' the Italian news outlet la Repubblica reported. It is not exactly clear how Mr Duplessie is tied to case, but he was the last remaining alleged culprit being sought, sources said. According to property records, Mr Duplessie has shacked up at ritzy residences over the years, including a Malibu, California, mansion valued at more than $US3.8 million ($A5.9m) and a Miami property with a pool with a market value of nearly $US900,000 ($A1.4m). He is not listed as the owner of either property. According to his bio on he founded the Lugano, Switzerland-based Pangea Digital Asset Group and Pangea Blockchain Fund in 2019 with his father, James, and brother, Stephen. In a 2017 interview with bitcoin blogger Tai Lopez, Duplessie bragged that he began trading in the stock market at age 11 before focusing on the cryptocurrency market. Sources said Duplessie and Woeltz were 'business partners' in a current venture. Woeltz, a crypto dealer with a private jet and chopper and worth in excess of $100 million, allegedly masterminded the sick scheme, which included pistol-whipping Carturan, cutting him with a chainsaw and urinating on him while they held him captive, sources said. Carturan was taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment after his rescue. Woeltz was arraigned on kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, assault, and weapons possession charges on Saturday and is now being held without bail at Rikers Island. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Duplessie will be charged. 'We know he is going to be charged [along] with Mr. Woeltz, with kidnapping and false imprisonment of an associate in SoHo,' Tisch said on 'Good Day New York' Tuesday morning.
