NEW YORK — Two cryptocurrency investors pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges alleging they kidnapped and tortured an Italian man in an upscale Manhattan townhouse in a scheme to obtain his Bitcoin.
William Duplessie, 32, and John Woeltz, 37, were arraigned in Manhattan criminal court, where a judge ordered them held without bail until their next hearing on July 15. Both appeared in court in handcuffs and prison uniforms, only speaking to formally enter their pleas.
The pair face multiple felony charges, including kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a weapon. Prosecutors say the two men lured the victim — a 28-year-old Italian national they personally knew — to a posh SoHo townhouse on May 6 by threatening to kill his family.
The victim claimed he was held captive for 17 days, during which he was tortured with electrical wires, forced to smoke from a crack pipe, and even dangled from a five-story-high staircase. Eventually, he said he gave up his computer password, and later managed to escape while his alleged captors left the room to retrieve the device.
Attorneys for Duplessie and Woeltz pushed back against the accusations, requesting $1 million bail and home confinement. They presented purported video and photographic evidence showing the victim smiling, laughing, and even walking freely outside during his time in New York — including a trip to an eyeglass store with one of the defendants.
“This narrative is entirely false,” said Sam Talkin, Duplessie’s attorney. “The story that he is selling doesn’t make sense.”
Prosecutor Sania Khan disputed the defense’s version, arguing that someone linked to the defendants was selectively leaking media to distort public perception. “Victims of abuse are not always going to act the way that we expect them to,” Khan said in court.
Woeltz, who has previously described himself as a blockchain investor with experience in Silicon Valley, returned to his home state of Kentucky to join its growing crypto-mining industry. Duplessie is listed as a founder or investor in several blockchain-based companies.
In a surprising twist, two NYPD detectives who worked security at the townhouse during the alleged captivity are now under internal investigation. Both officers have been placed on modified duty pending the outcome, though their lawyer said there’s currently no indication they were aware of any criminal behavior.
As the high-profile case unfolds, questions continue to mount around the intersection of cryptocurrency, personal connections, and alleged extreme violence. The next court date is set for July 15.
