Authorities arrested 37-year-old cryptocurrency investor John Woeltz of Kentucky on Friday. Bishop, 61, is currently facing felony charges for allegedly kidnapping and torturing an Italian tourist inside his luxury SoHo townhouse. Woeltz was charged with felony personal branding and aggravated assault. The victim had been held in captivity and tortured for 17 days.
The crim alleged victim departed Italy for New York on May 6. Within days of his arrival, Woeltz and his business partner at the time, 32-year-old William Duplessie, held him hostage. The report said the two men targeted the victim’s cryptocurrency, intending to use intimidation and violence to get access to his digital wallet. According to the reports, Woeltz took the victim’s passport right when he got there. This barbaric act began an atrocious and dehumanizing experience that left this man bloodied and barefoot when he fled for his life.
The SoHo home is an eight-bedroom brownstone. Woeltz leased it at a cost between $30,000 and $40,000/month, and the house soon turned into the alleged crime scene. On a Friday morning, the victim chose to take a bold risk. In return for his freedom, he agreed to provide Woeltz and Duplessie with his password.
Duplessie gave himself up to the police Tuesday, just after Woeltz was arrested. Both men are now facing criminal investigation for the beating. They are connected to a recent attempted abduction in Nantes and to a separate attempted kidnapping of a woman and child in Paris.
This worrying trend of kidnapping focused on crypto investors has triggered serious concerns among law enforcement authorities. Security expert David Seltzer warned about the growing trend of these crimes.
“Instead of robbing a bank, they can kidnap someone and get access to their Bitcoin wallet or crypto wallet,” – David Seltzer
Seltzer further stated, “It’s becoming a thing because people think it’s an easy way to get cash.” Yet this positive story belies a deep and troubling dysfunction. Criminals are getting more sophisticated and targeting cryptocurrency investors to scam them out of their hard-earned funds.
This torture and imprisonment of an Italian tourist highlights the ugly, underbelly of the rapidly developing cryptocurrency market. Some beg, some steal, some take desperate measures all to acquire money. The police have connected Woeltz and Duplessie to ongoing investigations into a series of kidnapping plots targeting crypto entrepreneurs and their families, which have resulted in over 20 arrests in France.