Within the newest crypto kidnapping case, a person by the title of John Victor Woeltz was arrested on Friday (Might 23), accused of kidnapping an unnamed Italian man in New York and torturing him for weeks to achieve entry to the person’s Bitcoin.
Woeltz and one other unnamed particular person allegedly held the Italian vacationer hostage for 2 weeks inside a Manhattan residence earlier than he managed to flee and alert the authorities.
🇺🇸CRYPTO INVESTOR TURNED TORTURE KINGPIN IN NYC HORROR PAD
A Kentucky crypto bro allegedly turned a $40K/month SoHo rental right into a full-blown torture chamber to extort hundreds of thousands from an Italian vacationer.
Police say John Woeltz certain the person for two weeks, electrocuted him,… pic.twitter.com/55pZIm3g3G
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) Might 24, 2025
John Victor Woeltz Arrested On The Similar Day The Crypto Kidnapping Sufferer Managed To Escape
John Victor Woeltz, 37, was taken into custody on Friday (Might 23), the identical day the sufferer managed to flee from the property in Manhattan.
Woeltz was arraigned Saturday on one depend every of second-degree assault, kidnapping, illegal imprisonment, and legal possession of a firearm, per court docket information.
Sources near the investigation have stated Woeltz, the vacationer, and an unnamed third particular person had been in enterprise collectively for years. Police are nonetheless looking for the third enterprise companion, who has not been publicly recognized.
An lawyer for Woeltz declined to remark Saturday. A decide granted a request to carry Woeltz in custody throughout Saturday’s arraignment. His subsequent court docket date is Wednesday.
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Italian Man Allegedly Held And Tortured For 17 Days For Bitcoin Password, However Did Not Break
(SOURCE)
The vacationer, a 28-year-old man visiting from Italy, met the accused kidnapper on Might 6, sources stated. On that very same date, Woeltz allegedly took the Italian man to a house he was renting in Nolita, an upmarket neighborhood in New York’s Manhattan district.
In response to a legal criticism filed in New York, Woeltz and an unidentified “unapprehended male” kidnapped the sufferer, took his digital gadgets and passport, and tortured him till he managed to flee seventeen days later.
The pair had been making an attempt to get the sufferer handy over entry to his Bitcoin portfolio, and when he refused, they beat him, shocked him with electrical wires and hit him within the head with a gun.
Woeltz and the third enterprise companion allegedly aimed a gun on the sufferer’s head on a number of events, dangled him over a top-floor staircase, and threatened to kill him if he didn’t reveal his password.
Sources near the case have additionally claimed that the abductors urinated on the sufferer and put an Apple AirTag across the Italian’s neck to make sure he didn’t escape.
No particulars have been launched as of but relating to how the sufferer managed to flee on Friday. Nonetheless, upon escaping, the Italian ran right into a street visitors officer who known as police to the Nolita residence, the place John Victor Woeltz was later arrested.
There Is Little Info On What Spurred The Enterprise Relationship To Flip So Violent Amid a Spate Of Crypto Kidnapping Instances
The subsequent crypto-related kidnapping in Europe, this time in Paris, France 🇫🇷, had been three males tried kidnapping the daughter of a crypto platform’s CEO, thankfully with out success! pic.twitter.com/l6mbcdit4q
— CR1337 (@cryptonator1337) Might 13, 2025
When digging into Woeltz’s background, the motive for the crypto kidnapping comes as a shock. Sources have stated that the alleged kidnapper is a distinguished crypto dealer from the state of Kentucky who’s estimated to be price north of $100 million.
Alternatively, the identical sources declare that the Italian sufferer has an estimated internet price of round $30 million. Because of the trio’s supposed longstanding enterprise relationship, there might be a number of the reason why Woeltz and his confederate viciously tortured the sufferer for his Bitcoin password.
The sources stated Woeltz had reportedly been renting out the Prince Road residence at a month-to-month fee of between $30,000 and $40,000. A web-based itemizing for the house says it was final rented in March for $75,000.
Whether or not a enterprise deal gone mistaken or simply pure greed, it comes scorching on the heels of a spate of crypto-related kidnappings throughout France and elsewhere.
Earlier this 12 months, a co-founder of the crypto onerous pockets agency, Ledger, was kidnapped alongside along with his spouse in an tried ransom case. David Balland had his finger lower off through the ordeal earlier than French particular forces carried out a profitable rescue operation which additionally noticed Balland’s spouse discovered and unhurt.
Then once more, only a few weeks again, the daughter and granddaughter of a French crypto alternate proprietor had been victims of an tried crypto kidnapping in broad daylight on the streets of Paris.
Fortunately, the daughter’s husband fought off the attackers earlier than members of the general public stepped in, and the criminals had been compelled to desert the plot.
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