Latest news with #cryptoHedgeFund
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Second man charged in violent New York kidnapping crypto case appears in court
NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - William Duplessie, one of the two men charged in New York with kidnapping a man for three weeks in Manhattan's upscale SoHo neighborhood, shocking him with electric wires, and dangling him over a staircase to try to get him to give up his Bitcoin password, appeared in court on Friday. In court, a prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney's office told Judge Kacie Lallie that Duplessie, 33, has not yet been indicted. His co-defendant, John Woeltz, was indicted by a grand jury on Thursday and is due to be arraigned on June 11, prosecutors said. Duplessie, wearing beige prison garb, was led handcuffed out of the courtroom after the brief hearing ended. Both he and Woeltz, who was arrested on May 23, had been ordered jailed earlier this week. Duplessie was arrested on Tuesday. His lawyer, Sam Talkin, declined to comment after Friday's hearing. Local media have called Woeltz a cryptocurrency investor and described the alleged victim as an Italian man. Both Woeltz and the alleged victim had ties to a crypto hedge fund in New York, the New York Times reported, citing an internal police report described by a law enforcement official. When the man refused to share his password, Woeltz and Duplessie allegedly began a series of brutal beatings over three weeks in a luxury townhouse until the man managed to escape. They tied his wrists, hit him on the head with a gun, and threatened to kill his family, according to the complaints against the two men. Woeltz has been indicted by a grand jury and is due to be arraigned on June 11, prosecutors said on Thursday. Neither Woeltz nor Duplessie has entered pleas.
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Man charged in New York with 3-week kidnapping to try to steal Bitcoin
NEW YORK :A grand jury has indicted a 37-year-old cryptocurrency investor accused of kidnapping a business partner in Manhattan's upscale Soho neighborhood for three weeks, shocking him with electric wires, and dangling him over a staircase to try to get him to give up his Bitcoin password, prosecutors said on Wednesday. John Woeltz was arrested on May 23, court records show. According to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan criminal court, an unnamed man told New York City police that Woeltz and another man, William Duplessie, on May 6 took his electronic devices and passport demanded he give up his password so they could steal his cryptocurrency. Woeltz and Duplessie, 33, have not yet entered pleas. Their lawyers declined to comment. Local media have called Woeltz a cryptocurrency investor and described the alleged victim as an Italian man. Both had ties to a crypto hedge fund in New York, the New York Times reported, citing an internal police report described by a law enforcement official. When the man refused to share his password, Woeltz and Duplessie allegedly began a series of brutal beatings until the man managed to escape weeks later. They tied his wrists, hit him on the head with a gun, and threatened to kill his family, according to the complaints against the two men. Duplessie was arrested on Tuesday and is due in court for a preliminary hearing on Friday. Judges have ordered both men detained. Woeltz is due to be arraigned on June 11.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Man charged in New York with 3-week kidnapping to try to steal Bitcoin
NEW YORK, May 29 (Reuters) - A grand jury has indicted a 37-year-old cryptocurrency investor accused of kidnapping a business partner in Manhattan's upscale Soho neighborhood for three weeks, shocking him with electric wires, and dangling him over a staircase to try to get him to give up his Bitcoin password, prosecutors said on Wednesday. John Woeltz was arrested on May 23, court records show. According to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan criminal court, an unnamed man told New York City police that Woeltz and another man, William Duplessie, on May 6 took his electronic devices and passport demanded he give up his password so they could steal his cryptocurrency. Woeltz and Duplessie, 33, have not yet entered pleas. Their lawyers declined to comment. Local media have called Woeltz a cryptocurrency investor and described the alleged victim as an Italian man. Both had ties to a crypto hedge fund in New York, the New York Times reported, citing an internal police report described by a law enforcement official. When the man refused to share his password, Woeltz and Duplessie allegedly began a series of brutal beatings until the man managed to escape weeks later. They tied his wrists, hit him on the head with a gun, and threatened to kill his family, according to the complaints against the two men. Duplessie was arrested on Tuesday and is due in court for a preliminary hearing on Friday. Judges have ordered both men detained. Woeltz is due to be arraigned on June 11.
