2 men plead not guilty in New York crypto kidnapping and torture case

NEW YORK (AP) — Two crypto investors pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges they kidnapped and tortured an Italian man for his Bitcoin in an upscale Manhattan townhouse.

William Duplessie and John Woeltz were ordered held in custody until their next court date on July 15 during their arraignment in Manhattan criminal court.

Their lawyers had sought their release on $1 million bail and home confinement with their parents.

They argued the victim wasn’t in distress during his time in New York, saying they had obtained video and photo evidence showing the accuser smiling and laughing during the time of his purported captivity.

Among the evidence the lawyers said they have obtained are photos of the accuser moving freely in and out of the house, even taking a trip to an eyeglass store with one of the defendants.

“This narrative is entirely false,” said Sam Talkin, Duplessie’s lawyer. “The story that he is selling doesn’t make sense.”

Prosecutor Sania Khan argued that someone supporting 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,” she added.

Duplessie and Woeltz, who appeared in handcuffs and prison uniforms, 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, who they knew personally, to a posh townhouse in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood by threatening to kill his family.

The man, a 28-year-old Italian national who has not been named by officials, said he was held captive for 17 days.

He 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, 37, 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, 32, 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.

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Follow Philip Marcelo on X: @philmarcelo.