A Kentucky cryptocurrency trader worth an estimated $100 million has been charged with kidnapping and torturing an Italian tourist inside a high-end Manhattan rental in an alleged attempt to steal the victim’s bitcoin, NBC News reports.
John Woeltz, 37, was arrested Friday at a six-story town house on Prince Street in Nolita after the 28-year-old victim fled the residence and flagged down a traffic agent, according to a criminal complaint and law-enforcement sources. The tourist — whose name has not been released — told officers he had been held for 17 days, beaten, shocked with electrical wires and threatened at gunpoint unless he divulged access to cryptocurrency holdings valued at roughly $30 million.
Woeltz was arraigned Saturday on charges of second-degree assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm. A Manhattan judge ordered him held without bail; his next court appearance is set for Wednesday.
Investigators say the tourist met Woeltz on May 6 and was lured to the Prince Street residence, which Woeltz had rented for up to $40,000 a month. There, Woeltz and an unidentified accomplice allegedly confiscated the victim’s passport, electronics and phone, then bound his wrists, placed an Apple AirTag around his neck to track him and subjected him to repeated beatings.
According to the complaint, the assailants:
- Struck the victim with a handgun and threatened to kill him and his family.
- Suspended him over a stairwell ledge and electro-shocked him when he refused to reveal his bitcoin password.
- Urinated on him while photographing the abuse.
The victim escaped Friday morning and was taken to a hospital in stable condition with cuts, bruises and ligature marks, police said.
A search of the residence uncovered Polaroid images showing the tourist bound and gagged, as well as “torture implements” and a firearm believed to be the same gun used in the assaults, law-enforcement sources said. Cases of alcohol and stripper poles were also found throughout the property, which last rented for $75,000 a month, according to online listings.
Police are searching for a second suspect, described in the complaint as an “unapprehended male” and longtime business associate of Woeltz and the victim. Sources familiar with the investigation said the trio had been involved in cryptocurrency ventures for several years.
Prince Street residents watched as heavily armed officers converged on the building Friday.
“I’ve lived here 30 years and never seen anything like it,” neighbor Jennifer Crawford told NBC News. “All that money in the world didn’t do him any good.”
Throughout Saturday, curious passers-by snapped photos of the town house, still ringed with police tape. Detectives remained on scene collecting evidence.
