John Woeltz: Crypto King Who Tortured Italian Bitcoin Billionaire Was Known for Spending $100K at Erotic NYC Nightclub with William Duplessie

International Business Times

28-05-2025

The 'Kentucky crypto king', who is accused of torturing an Italian Bitcoin millionaire inside a luxurious New York City townhouse for more than two weeks till he escaped from his captivity, was known for spending a whopping $100,000 in one night at an exclusive erotic nightclub.
John Woeltz, 37, and his alleged partner, William Duplessie, 33, began regularly visiting The Box — a notorious club on the Lower East Side — starting in February, according to sources who spoke with TMZ. The duo was spotted there on multiple nights in a row, reportedly spending between $80,000 and $100,000 during each visit. Woeltz was arrested last week, while Duplessie surrendered to police Tuesday.
Bad Boys, Bad Habits
Sources said that on at least one night, Duplessie was photographed partying shirtless at the club, with a woman sitting on his shoulders. The pair frequently brought women they met at The Box back to a luxurious SoHo apartment for private afterparties, according to insiders.
The shocking revelations surfaced after Woeltz and Duplessie were arrested for allegedly kidnapping and torturing Italian Bitcoin millionaire Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan inside a lavish Prince Street townhouse.
Carturan, whose net worth is said to be around $30 million, was reportedly tricked into going to the upscale SoHo house, where he was held hostage and tortured in an attempt to force him to give up his Bitcoin password.
The disturbing ordeal came to light only after the Italian victim managed to flee the SoHo townhouse last Friday, bloodied and barefoot, while his captors were momentarily distracted, according to police.
He claimed he had been brutally assaulted with a chainsaw, drugged, electrocuted with wires, and repeatedly threatened with death over the course of nearly three weeks.
This came as a chilling new video emerged that captures the moment the Italian crypto millionaire broke free from his kidnappers. The disturbing video obtained by NBC New York shows a shaken and barefoot Carturan running to an NYPD traffic officer on Friday, visibly distressed and traumatized.
Dangerous Liaisons
Carturan had just escaped from a lavish six-story apartment on Prince Street where he was allegedly chained up, electrocuted, and brutally taunted with a chainsaw for 17 days by captors who demanded access to his cryptocurrency password, according to the authorities.
A distressed Carturan told the officer that he managed to flee after being warned it would be his "death day." Police said that he had visible bruises, cuts, and ligature marks on his wrists from being tied up.
Not long after the victim's escape, Woeltz was arrested and charged in connection with the alleged kidnapping plot.
Duplessie, on the other hand, turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday, following reports that he had spent a luxurious Memorial Day weekend in the Hamptons.