US Edition
NYC Crypto Kidnapping, Torture Case: 2 Men Plead Not Guilty to Charges
- Two crypto investors, William Duplessie and John Woeltz, pleaded not guilty on June 11, 2025, to kidnapping and torturing an Italian man in a Manhattan SoHo townhouse.
- On May 6, 2025, the two men allegedly persuaded the 28-year-old victim to come to a Manhattan townhouse by intimidating him with threats against his family in order to obtain his Bitcoin password, following years of electronic communication.
- Prosecutors describe brutal tortures including electrical wire beatings, forced crack pipe smoking, dangling from a five-story staircase, and cutting with a chainsaw, while lawyers dispute these claims citing video and photo evidence of the victim’s freedom.
- Duplessie, 33, and Woeltz, 37, were remanded without bail and are scheduled to appear in court again on July 15, 2025; prosecutors highlighted their possession of weapons and accused supporters of selectively releasing videos to misrepresent the facts.
- This case highlights security risks for wealthy cryptocurrency investors and ongoing investigations, including a federal raid on their Kentucky home linked to the alleged violent crimes in Manhattan.
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There are no reports of where or how many were taken into custody on Wednesday.
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Bitcoin kidnapping suspects linked to two Smithland properties
SMITHLAND — After the possible raid of the $1 million “Smith Mansion” in Smithland, Kentucky, Tuesday by state police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New York Police Department in an ongoing “violent crime” investigation, a…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources28
Leaning Left3Leaning Right4Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution59% Center
Bias Distribution
- 59% of the sources are Center
59% Center
L 18%
C 59%
R 24%
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