By Olivier Acuña Barba •
Published: 25 May 2025 • 14:37
• 2 minutes read
An Italian was kidnapped and tortured for weeks by a so-called crypto investor who wanted his victim’s passwords to access an undisclosed amount of bitcoin, which, by the way, hit all-time highs of nearly $112,000 three days ago.
The Manhattan criminal court on Saturday charged 37-year-old crypto investor, John Woeltz, with kidnapping an Italian ban and beating and torturing him for several weeks to get him to surrender his cryptocurrency passwords.
The New York Post said a “bombshell brunette” beauty had been arrested with Woeltz, a $100 million crypto king, for “sadistic torture.” ABC7 NY said the Italian man was a former business partner of Woeltz. The crime took place in a luxurious home in the upscale Manhattan neighbourhood of Soho. The Italian man reportedly escaped the five-storey, $30,000-a-month home on Friday and went to police for help. Authorities later arrested Woeltz.
Weeks-long torture
The New York Times reported that the police found photos inside the home that documented the victim’s weeks-long torture.
Woeltz did not act alone. He had two accomplices who allegedly helped the crypto investor detain and torture the 28-year-old man in the swanky Manhattan home Woeltz had been renting. The alleged victim told police he arrived in New York on May 6th, the day he was also allegedly kidnapped by Woeltz.
Woeltz and his accomplices stole the Italian’s devices and passport and demanded that he give up his bitcoin password so they could steal his crypto assets. When the victim refused to give up his secret codes, the beating began, according to reports.
Beaten, shocked, dangled and crack cocaine
The victim told the police that Woeltz and the other man beat him, shocked him, hit him with a gun and pointed it at his head, and dangled him from the top of the five-story home, threatening to kill him, the Guardian reported.
Woeltz and his two accomplices also cut the Italian man´s leg with a saw, threatened to kill his family and forced him to smoke crack cocaine, the New York Daily News reported.
They also cut his leg with a saw, he said, threatened to kill his family and forced him to smoke crack cocaine, the New York Daily News reported.
Reports say that Woeltz refused to speak with the police and retained legal representation immediately. He was arraigned on Saturday on four felony counts, including kidnapping with intent to collect ransom, and pleaded not guilty. Judge Eric Schumacher ordered that he be remanded without bail. Woeltz is scheduled to be back in court on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old female arrested in connection with the crime was apparently released, the Guardian said, adding they were unable to find any charges related to her on the Manhattan court’s online criminal case locator.
The New York Post identified her as Beatrice Fochi, “a brunette beauty” who is a small-time actor and claims to be a marketing manager for brands such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley.
