A Manhattan judge agreed Wednesday to release on bail two men charged with torturing a man in a luxury SoHo townhouse to obtain his cryptocurrency.
Over the objection of the Manhattan district attorney’s office, Judge Gregory Carro set bail at $1 million each for John Woeltz and William Duplessie, who have both pleaded not guilty to multiple charges.
The judge said there were enough discrepancies between the prosecution and defense accounts to merit bail while he continues to review evidence.
New York police officers arrest John Woeltz, Friday, May 23, 2025, in New York, who was charged with kidnapping, assaulting and holding a man against his will for several weeks in an upscale Manhattan town house.
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Both men must surrender passports, submit to electronic monitoring and remain on home confinement.
Woeltz and Duplessie have remained in custody since their arrest in May. They both pleaded not guilty to a dozen charges, including kidnapping, assault and coercion, during their arraignment last month.
The indictment alleges they held the man against his will “with intent to terrorize him” and assaulted him with a chainsaw, pistol and cattle prod as part of the torture. They are also accused of pouring tequila on the alleged victim and lighting him on fire.
Prosecutors have said Woeltz and Duplessie lured the alleged victim — an Italian man who is not identified in the indictment — to New York by allegedly threatening to have his family killed.
William Duplessie, who faces charges in connection with the alleged torture of Italian crypto millionaire Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, attends his hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, May 30, 2025.
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The man told police he arrived in New York on May 6 and went to Woeltz’s eight-bedroom SoHo townhouse, where he was allegedly tortured over his Bitcoin password, according to a complaint.
After more than two weeks, police said the man escaped from the townhouse on May 23 and ran to a traffic enforcement officer for help. Woeltz and Duplessie were subsequently arrested.
During the arraignment, the defense pushed back against the allegations, saying there is video of the alleged victim “having the time of his life” and engaging in activity at odds with having been tortured.
John Woeltz is arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court, June 11 2025, in News York.
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A prosecutor, Sarah Kahn, said in response that “victims of abuse are not always going to act in a way that we expect people to do.”
Kahn also said prosecutors have had conversations with other, unnamed law enforcement agencies that indicated Woeltz and Duplessie have tortured people before.
Prosecutors at Wednesday’s hearing brought up a law enforcement search of a property in Kentucky linked to Woeltz, who is known as the “crypto king of Kentucky,” that they said turned up writings indicating that Woeltz had mused about holding people to steal their cryptocurrency.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
