Crypto boss arrested in New York after tourist held and tortured in Soho penthouse

26 May 2025, 19:27

A cryptocurrency investor has been arrested in New York City after allegedly kidnapping and torturing an Italian tourist in a luxury SoHo apartment.

John Woeltz, 37, reportedly subjected his 28-year-old victim to over two weeks of brutal abuse in an attempt to extract access to his cryptocurrency accounts.

The crypto boss, from Kentucky, allegedly lured the victim to New York under the pretense of a business meeting.

Once there, the victim was confined to a $40,000-per-month penthouse apartment, where he was reportedly chained, electrocuted, beaten, and forced to consume cocaine.

Police claim that Woeltz, who is worth £37 million, threatened the victim with an electric chainsaw and took Polaroid photographs during the ordeal, possibly to extort money from the victim's family.

He was arrested after the victim managed to escape the high-end apartment and sought help at Bellevue Hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment.

Police recovered a firearm at the scene and are continuing their investigation.

Woeltz faces multiple charges, including kidnapping, assault, and illegal firearm possession.

His assistant, Beatrice Folchi, a 24-year-old Italian national, has also been arrested in connection with the incident.

She has been charged with first-degree kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

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The case has drawn attention to the increasing number of violent crimes associated with cryptocurrency, highlighting the risks faced by individuals involved in the digital currency sector.

Earlier this month, masked thugs tried to brutally kidnap the daughter of a cryptocurrency entrepreneur and her child in the heart of Paris.

Shocking footage showed the men descending onto the Rue Pache in the 11th Arrondissement in broad daylight to grab the woman and her two-year-old.

In January, David Balland, the co-founder of French company Ledger - which is valued at more than €1 billion - was kidnapped from his home in the Cher region of central France with his partner.

They were tortured by their kidnappers, who cut off one of Balland’s fingers, as they demanded a €10 million ransom.

Police arrested six men and one woman in connection with the crime after finding the pair a day later.

And then in May, kidnappers demanded a ransom of €5-7 million after taking the father of a wealthy cryptocurrency entrepreneur and forcing him into a delivery van in the 14th Arrondissement.

The criminals also severed one of that victim’s fingers, before he was rescued by armed police in a raid in the southern suburb of Palaiseau.

Five suspects were arrested.