Italian Millionaire Lured to NYC to Reclaim Stolen Bitcoin in Crypto Torture Case, Prosecutors Say

We’re getting a closer look at the alleged plot undertaken by two NYC suspects accused of kidnapping an Italian man and torturing him to obtain a password to his Bitcoin fortune … prosecutors revealed in court this week the victim was allegedly lured to Manhattan in an attempt to reclaim some of his currency that had already been stolen.

John Woeltz and William Duplessie, two hard-partying “crypto bros” living in an 8-bedroom SoHo townhouse, are in custody after a barefoot and bloody Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan approached a cop on the street last week and said he’d just escaped from being imprisoned and tortured at the residence.

Prosecutors allege Woeltz and Duplessie had previously forced Carturan, a multimillionaire, to send them Bitcoin after they threatened to kill his family. Woeltz and Duplessie allegedly told Carturan he could get his Bitcoin back if he personally showed up in New York, which he did in early May.

Woeltz, 33, and 37-year-old Duplessie allegedly took 28-year-old Carturan’s passport and devices, then bound him by his wrists and proceeded to torture him over the course of 17 days — he was allegedly pistol-whipped, shocked with electrical wires, and threatened with being shot. His family was also allegedly further threatened. The suspects wanted Carturan to give up the password to his Bitcoin wallet, prosecutors say.

Carturan told authorities the two suspects cut his leg with a saw, urinated on him, and forced him to smoke crack cocaine from a pipe held to his mouth. He said an AirTag was tied around his neck with chain or wire.

Woeltz — known as the “Crypto King of Kentucky” — allegedly hung Carturan over a ledge from the top flight of stairs in the townhouse. Carturan finally said he would give them the password from his laptop computer … and as Woeltz went to retrieve the laptop, Carturan ran down the stairs and out the front door, and flagged down a traffic cop, who called 911. His barefoot interaction was caught on camera.

Woeltz was arrested on Friday, May 23, at the townhouse. Duplessie was arrested Tuesday when he turned himself in at a police station.

Prosecutors say a search warrant at the townhouse recovered a saw, crack cocaine, chicken wire, T-shirts featuring pictures of Carturan with the pipe in his mouth, Polaroid pictures of Carturan with a gun pointed at his head, and other items, including firearm ammunition and body armor. Blood was also found in parts of the residence, matching locations where Carturan described he’d been tortured.

Carturan was treated for his injuries at Bellevue Hospital.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ … the NYPD detective who allegedly picked up Carturan at the airport serves as a member of New York Mayor Eric Adams‘ security detail … and is now under investigation in relation to this case.