US Crypto Tycoon Drugs Tourist, Ties And Urinates On Him For Bitcoin Password
A Kentucky crypto millionaire accused of kidnapping and torturing an Italian man in a luxury Soho apartment to force him to reveal his Bitcoin password has been ordered imprisonment without bail.
John Woeltz, 37, faces multiple charges including kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. He could face up to 25 years in prison.
The victim, 28-year-old Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan from Turin, Italy, is a crypto trader believed to be worth $30 million. He had travelled to the US on May 6, telling his family he was coming for tourism and language study, The NY Post reported, citing Italian media.
Once he arrived at the Prince Street rental, which prosecutors described as a "crypto commune" with stripper poles and cases of Cristal (a brand of champagne), he was allegedly held against his will, tortured, and forced to give up access to his crypto fortune.
Carturan was allegedly tied to a chair with electrical wire, tased while his feet were in water, urinated on, forced to take drugs, and cut on his legs and arms with a chainsaw. He had an Apple AirTag tied around his neck.
Authorities found Polaroids showing Carturan with a gun to his head and smoking crack cocaine through a pipe. They also found night vision goggles, a bulletproof vest, ballistic helmets, firearms, and ammunition inside the apartment. T-shirts bearing his image with crack in his mouth were also recovered.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Mattson told the court that Woeltz at one point "carried the victim to the top flight of stairs of the apartment in the compound and hung the victim over the ledge, after threatening to kill the victim if the victim did not provide the defendant with the victim's Bitcoin password."
Carturan managed to escape on Friday morning by telling Woeltz he needed to enter the password into his laptop. When Woeltz turned away, Carturan, bloodied and barefoot, ran down the stairs and flagged down a traffic cop on the street.
He was taken to Bellevue Hospital with injuries including a chainsaw wound to the arm and a head injury from being pistol-whipped.
One of Woeltz's assistants, Beatrice Folchi, was initially arrested but later released after prosecutors declined to pursue charges immediately. At least one other suspect is still being sought.
Woeltz is worth an estimated $100 million, law enforcement sources said. He was arraigned Saturday in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he answered a nearly inaudible "yes" when Judge Eric Schumacher asked if he had a gun. His lawyer later clarified that the weapon was in Kentucky, not New York.
Woeltz owns a 150-acre property in Smithland, Kentucky, and reportedly travelled by private jet and helicopter.
How he amassed his fortune is still unclear, but sources said he worked in crypto security and may have been involved in a hedge fund.
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