Latest news with #Duplessie
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Suspects in New York City crypto torture case plead not guilty to kidnapping and assault
Two men accused of torturing an Italian businessman in a luxe New York City townhouse to obtain his cryptocurrency have pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, assault and coercion as prosecutors said there are other possible victims and even shared a photo that allegedly depicted the victim on fire. John Woeltz and William Duplessie, both handcuffed and in jumpsuits, were arraigned in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday after a grand jury indicted them on a dozen charges. Judge Gregory Carro ordered them to remain held without bail through their next court appearance on July 15. A prosecutor, Sarah Kahn, shared graphic details of the alleged abuse during the hearing. She showed the judge a photo that she said depicted the alleged victim on fire and said the defendants would pour tequila on him, light him on fire and then put the fire out -- sometimes by urinating on him. Woeltz and Duplessie pistol-whipped the victim with a gun, cut him with a small chainsaw and used various other instruments as part of the torture, Kahn said. She said prosecutors have had conversations with other, unnamed law enforcement agencies that indicated Woeltz and Duplessie have tortured people before. She did not elaborate. MORE: What we know about the NYC crypto kidnapping and torture case The defense pushed back, saying there is video of the alleged victim "having the time of his life" and engaging in activity at odds with having been tortured. The defense attorneys said they obtained a different video from an eyeglass store taken 36 hours before the alleged victim left the townhouse that purportedly shows him smoking a cigarette by himself on the street. "The story that he is selling just doesn't make sense," defense attorney Sam Talkin, who represents Duplessie, told the judge. Prosecutors have not seen the video and Kahn said, "Victims of abuse are not always going to act in a way that we expect people to do." Woeltz and Duplessie were arrested last month. The indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday, alleges they held the man against his will "with intent to terrorize him" and assaulted him with a chainsaw, pistol and cattle prod. Their attorneys have previously declined to comment on the case. MORE: 2 NYPD detectives employed by suspect in crypto torture case under investigation: Sources Prosecutors have said Woeltz and Duplessie lured the alleged victim -- a 28-year-old man who is not identified in the indictment -- to New York by allegedly threatening to have his family killed. 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 on charges including kidnapping, assault and unlawful imprisonment. Suspects in New York City crypto torture case plead not guilty to kidnapping and assault originally appeared on
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Suspects in New York City crypto torture case plead not guilty to kidnapping and assault
Two men accused of torturing an Italian businessman in a luxe New York City townhouse to obtain his cryptocurrency have pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, assault and coercion as prosecutors said there are other possible victims and even shared a photo that allegedly depicted the victim on fire. John Woeltz and William Duplessie, both handcuffed and in jumpsuits, were arraigned in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday after a grand jury indicted them on a dozen charges. Judge Gregory Carro ordered them to remain held without bail through their next court appearance on July 15. A prosecutor, Sarah Kahn, shared graphic details of the alleged abuse during the hearing. She showed the judge a photo that she said depicted the alleged victim on fire and said the defendants would pour tequila on him, light him on fire and then put the fire out -- sometimes by urinating on him. Woeltz and Duplessie pistol-whipped the victim with a gun, cut him with a small chainsaw and used various other instruments as part of the torture, Kahn said. She said prosecutors have had conversations with other, unnamed law enforcement agencies that indicated Woeltz and Duplessie have tortured people before. She did not elaborate. MORE: What we know about the NYC crypto kidnapping and torture case The defense pushed back, saying there is video of the alleged victim "having the time of his life" and engaging in activity at odds with having been tortured. The defense attorneys said they obtained a different video from an eyeglass store taken 36 hours before the alleged victim left the townhouse that purportedly shows him smoking a cigarette by himself on the street. "The story that he is selling just doesn't make sense," defense attorney Sam Talkin, who represents Duplessie, told the judge. Prosecutors have not seen the video and Kahn said, "Victims of abuse are not always going to act in a way that we expect people to do." Woeltz and Duplessie were arrested last month. The indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday, alleges they held the man against his will "with intent to terrorize him" and assaulted him with a chainsaw, pistol and cattle prod. Their attorneys have previously declined to comment on the case. MORE: 2 NYPD detectives employed by suspect in crypto torture case under investigation: Sources Prosecutors have said Woeltz and Duplessie lured the alleged victim -- a 28-year-old man who is not identified in the indictment -- to New York by allegedly threatening to have his family killed. 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 on charges including kidnapping, assault and unlawful imprisonment. Suspects in New York City crypto torture case plead not guilty to kidnapping and assault originally appeared on
11-06-2025
Suspects in New York City crypto torture case plead not guilty to kidnapping and assault
Two men accused of torturing an Italian businessman in a luxe New York City townhouse to obtain his cryptocurrency have pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, assault and coercion as prosecutors said there are other possible victims and even shared a photo that allegedly depicted the victim on fire. John Woeltz and William Duplessie, both handcuffed and in jumpsuits, were arraigned in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday after a grand jury indicted them on a dozen charges. Judge Gregory Carro ordered them to remain held without bail through their next court appearance on July 15. A prosecutor, Sarah Kahn, shared graphic details of the alleged abuse during the hearing. She showed the judge a photo that she said depicted the alleged victim on fire and said the defendants would pour tequila on him, light him on fire and then put the fire out -- sometimes by urinating on him. Woeltz and Duplessie pistol-whipped the victim with a gun, cut him with a small chainsaw and used various other instruments as part of the torture, Kahn said. She said prosecutors have had conversations with other, unnamed law enforcement agencies that indicated Woeltz and Duplessie have tortured people before. She did not elaborate. The defense pushed back, saying there is video of the alleged victim "having the time of his life" and engaging in activity at odds with having been tortured. The defense attorneys said they obtained a different video from an eyeglass store taken 36 hours before the alleged victim left the townhouse that purportedly shows him smoking a cigarette by himself on the street. "The story that he is selling just doesn't make sense," defense attorney Sam Talkin, who represents Duplessie, told the judge. Prosecutors have not seen the video and Kahn said, "Victims of abuse are not always going to act in a way that we expect people to do." Woeltz and Duplessie were arrested last month. The indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday, alleges they held the man against his will "with intent to terrorize him" and assaulted him with a chainsaw, pistol and cattle prod. Their attorneys have previously declined to comment on the case. Prosecutors have said Woeltz and Duplessie lured the alleged victim -- a 28-year-old man who is not identified in the indictment -- to New York by allegedly threatening to have his family killed. 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 on charges including kidnapping, assault and unlawful imprisonment.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Photos show accuser in NYC crypto kidnapping leaving house freely, defense lawyers say
NEW YORK (AP) — A man who says he was kidnapped by two crypto investors for his Bitcoin was seen in photos and videos 'laughing and smiling' and moving about Manhattan freely during the days he claimed he was held captive and tortured, lawyers for the two suspects said in court Wednesday. William Duplessie and John Woeltz pleaded not guilty and were ordered held in custody until their next court date on July 15. Prosecutors argue the man was clearly in distress because he ran barefoot to the nearest police officer after escaping 17 days in captivity. However, Duplessie's lawyer said Wednesday that videos show the accuser participating in group sex and smoking crack cocaine while 'laughing and smiling the whole time.' This shows that his story about being in distress or held against his will 'is entirely false,' Sam Talkin said. In other photos, the accuser is seen visiting an eyeglass store with one of the defendants, Talkin said, noting he could have fled or sought help at any time. 'The story that he is selling doesn't make sense,' Talkin said in Manhattan criminal court as the defendants were formally arraigned. Woeltz's lawyer Wayne Gosnell added that witnesses told him the accuser came and went as he pleased from the upscale townhouse where he says he was held — going to church, clubs and dinners. The accuser, a 28-year-old Italian national, has not been named by officials. Prosecutors say the defendants knew him personally. Prosecutor Sarah Khan argued that someone who supports the defendants was selectively leaking videos to present a counternarrative of the events. 'Victims of abuse are not always going to act the way that we expect them to,' Khan said, adding that prosecutors have other photos showing the accuser being set on fire. When prodded by the judge, she explained that he didn't actually sustain any burn injuries because the defendants would quickly douse the flames, sometimes by urinating on him. Prosecutors believe this is not the first time the defendants have held a person against their will, she said. They're aware of two other potential victims in two other locations. Khan argued that holding the two men in custody 'remains the only option' because they're both flight risks. Their lawyers had sought their release on $1 million bail and home confinement with their parents. The two face up to life in prison if convicted, she said. Duplessie, 32, and Woeltz, 37, appeared handcuffed in prison uniforms and didn't speak in court other than to formally enter their pleas. They face charges of kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a weapon. Prosecutors say on May 6, the two men lured the victim to a townhouse in Manhattan's posh SoHo neighborhood by threatening to kill his family. The man said the two investors tormented him with electrical wires, forced him to smoke from a crack pipe and at one point dangled him from a staircase five stories high. The man said he eventually agreed to hand over his computer password, then managed to flee as his captors went to retrieve the device. Woeltz has described himself in interviews as a blockchain investor who spent time in Silicon Valley before returning to Kentucky's burgeoning crypto-mining industry. Duplessie is listed as a founder or investor at various blockchain-based companies. New York City police are also investigating two detectives who worked security at the townhouse where the man says he was tortured. The officers have been placed on modified leave pending the outcome of the inquiry, although their lawyer has said there's no indication either officer witnessed any of the alleged criminal activity. ___ Follow Philip Marcelo on X: @philmarcelo.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Two men plead not guilty in violent New York crypto kidnapping case
By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two men pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges they kidnapped a man for three weeks in Manhattan's upscale SoHo neighborhood, shocked him with electric wires and dangled him over a staircase to try to get him to give up his bitcoin password. John Woeltz, 37, and William Duplessie, 33, have been detained since their arrests last month on kidnapping and other charges. Both defendants face up to life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney's office said Duplessie and Woeltz on May 6 took a man's electronics and password and demanded that he share his password so they could steal his cryptocurrency. When the man refused to share his password, Duplessie and Woeltz began a series of brutal beatings over three weeks in a luxury townhouse until the man managed to escape, prosecutors said. Duplessie and Woeltz tied the man's wrists, hit him on the head with a gun and threatened to kill his family, according to criminal complaints against the two men filed in court. Justice Gregory Carro ordered the two defendants to be detained without bail at least until their next hearing on July 15. Local media have called Woeltz a cryptocurrency investor and described the alleged victim as an Italian man. Both Woeltz and the alleged victim had ties to a crypto hedge fund in New York, the New York Times reported, citing an internal police report described by a law enforcement official. The alleged incident comes as three cryptocurrency-linked kidnappings or kidnapping attempts have taken place in France so far this year. The rapid rise in the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in recent years has created a new group of wealthy investors who could be tempting targets for criminals, according to security experts.
