Crypto Millionaire Charged in Sadistic NYC Kidnapping and Torture Plot

In a chilling tale straight out of a crime thriller, a cryptocurrency investor, John Woeltz, 37, faces charges in New York City for allegedly kidnapping and torturing a former business partner in a SoHo townhouse. The 28-year-old Italian victim endured two weeks of sadistic abuse, including tasering, pistol-whipping, and threats with an electric chainsaw, all in a twisted bid to extract valuable passwords. A 24-year-old woman, Beatrice Folchi, was also arrested for her role in this grim extortion plot.

The victim, lured to the luxurious Princes Street property on May 6, was stripped of his passport, bound with electrical cords, and subjected to horrifying ordeals, including forced cocaine ingestion. Polaroid photos discovered by police captured the brutality, showing the victim tied to a chair with a gun to his head. His daring escape on Friday morning led to a dramatic police response, with SWAT teams swarming the upscale neighborhood.

Woeltz, a Kentucky native, was perp-walked barefoot in a robe, now charged with kidnapping, assault, and unlawful imprisonment. Folchi faces similar charges. The victim, though battered, is stable at Bellevue Hospital. This case exposes the dark underbelly of crypto wealth, where greed can spiral into unimaginable cruelty.