28.05.2025 16:00
In New York, John Woeltz, known as the 'Crypto King of Kentucky,' is accused of kidnapping and torturing a business partner. Woeltz and his accomplice William Duplessie aimed to learn the password to the victim's Bitcoin wallet. Italian citizen Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan was held captive for three weeks and subjected to various forms of torture.
A terrible incident occurred in New York, revealing the dark side of the cryptocurrency world once again. John Woeltz, known as the "Crypto King of Kentucky," is accused of kidnapping and torturing a business partner. His aim was to learn the password to the victim's Bitcoin wallet.
37-year-old John Woeltz, known as the "Crypto King of Kentucky" in the U.S., was arrested on Friday in his luxury apartment in the NoLIta neighborhood of New York. According to police statements, the victim, 28-year-old Italian citizen Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, was held captive in this 17-room house for three weeks. Carturan managed to escape by asking a police officer for help.
According to prosecutors, Woeltz and his accomplice William Duplessie, who was captured on Tuesday, electrocuted Carturan, beat him with a gun, forced him to smoke crack cocaine, and even cut off his leg with a saw. It is also claimed that they dangled him from the top of a five-story building.
The incident began on May 6. When Carturan arrived at Woeltz's home due to a business partnership, his passport and all electronic devices were confiscated. Then the threats and torture began to obtain the password for the Bitcoin wallet, which is believed to contain millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.
Woeltz's lawyers did not comment. Duplessie's lawyers also did not respond to questions from Fortune magazine.
Woeltz's past was very different from his current situation. Born in Paducah, Kentucky, Woeltz was part of the team that won the ETHGlobal San Francisco hackathon competition in 2018. He later founded and headed a blockchain investment fund called Silicon River Capital. He was even selected by the Kentucky state technology office to work on a group focused on the use of blockchain in critical infrastructure, public utilities, and emergency services.
Now, he is being judged not as an investor with a bright future, but as someone who resorts to violence for virtual wealth. He faces charges of kidnapping, assault, unlawful detention, and possession of a weapon.
This incident is part of a growing trend in recent years: "wrench attacks," where passwords are forcibly obtained. While it is difficult to bypass technological security systems, obtaining a password by threatening someone with tools like a wrench proves to be quite effective. In fact, some wealthy cryptocurrency owners even take out special insurance against such attacks.