A cryptocurrency investor has been charged in a shocking kidnap and torture case in New York, where police allege the crime was aimed at extorting Bitcoin passwords from an Italian national.
John Woeltz, 37, was arraigned in Manhattan criminal court on Saturday after authorities accused him of detaining and torturing a 28-year-old man for several weeks in a luxury property in SoHo.
The victim, who had travelled to the US from Italy earlier in May, managed to escape on Friday and alert police, leading to Woeltz’s arrest the same day.
According to reports from the *New York Times* and *New York Daily News*, the Italian man was held inside a five-storey townhouse reportedly rented by Woeltz for around \$30,000 per month. Police discovered disturbing Polaroid photographs allegedly documenting the prolonged abuse.
The victim claims he was abducted shortly after arriving in the US on 6 May. Woeltz and an unidentified accomplice allegedly seized his passport and digital devices, demanding the passwords to his Bitcoin holdings. When he refused, the men reportedly launched a campaign of physical and psychological torture.
Police reports detail harrowing accounts of beatings, electrocution, threats at gunpoint, and forced drug use. The victim was even allegedly suspended from the top of the townhouse and threatened with death if he didn’t cooperate. In a particularly gruesome act, he claims his leg was cut with a saw.
Woeltz now faces four felony charges, including kidnapping for ransom. He pleaded not guilty in court and was remanded in custody without bail by Judge Eric Schumacher. Legal sources say he refused to speak with investigators and has secured legal representation.
A 24-year-old woman was also detained in connection with the case, although as of Saturday, no formal charges were listed against her on the Manhattan criminal case registry. She was reportedly seen walking freely in New York shortly after her arrest.
