A cryptocurrency investor has been charged with kidnapping and torturing an Italian man in a shocking attempt to extract cryptocurrency passwords, according to authorities.
John Woeltz, 37, was arraigned in Manhattan criminal court on Saturday morning following his arrest on Friday. Prosecutors allege that Woeltz held the 28-year-old victim captive for several weeks in a luxury townhouse in Manhattan’s upscale SoHo neighborhood, where he subjected him to brutal torture in an effort to access his Bitcoin.
The victim, who had arrived in the US on May 6, reportedly escaped from the five-story rental property—valued at $30,000 per month—on Friday and alerted police. Officers later found Polaroid photographs in the residence that appeared to document the ongoing abuse, The New York Times reported.
Authorities say Woeltz, along with two accomplices, stole the victim’s electronic devices and passport and demanded his cryptocurrency login credentials. When he refused, they allegedly beat him, shocked him with electricity, pointed a gun at his head, dangled him from the rooftop, and even cut his leg with a saw. The victim also claimed he was forced to smoke crack cocaine and threatened with the death of his family, according to the New York Daily News.
Woeltz declined to speak with investigators and immediately secured legal counsel. He was formally charged with four felony counts, including kidnapping for ransom, and pleaded not guilty. Judge Eric Schumacher ordered him held without bail.
A 24-year-old woman was also taken into custody on Friday in connection with the case, though she was seen walking free on Saturday and no charges against her were visible in the Manhattan criminal court’s online records.
Several aspects of the case remain unclear, including the nature of the relationship between Woeltz and the victim. Woeltz is expected to appear in court again on Wednesday.