On May 23, John Woeltz, a 37-year-old crypto entrepreneur, was arrested for his involvement in the alleged kidnapping and torture of an Italian businessman in a luxury New York City apartment.
According to the New York Times, the long-time crypto investor and programmer, along with his two accomplices, detained and tortured 28-year-old Michael Valentino Carturan in an upscale apartment in the SoHo neighborhood. The victim, who managed to escape from the five-story home owned by Woeltz, told the police that he had been held captive since his arrival on May 6.
Woeltz and his business partner, William Duplessie, held Carturan captive in the apartment for three weeks. They stole the man’s electronic devices and passport, demanding that he give up the password to his cryptocurrency wallet to steal his Bitcoins. When he refused, they began torturing him by electrocuting him, injuring his leg with a saw, and forcing him to ingest narcotics.
They also hit Carturan with a gun and pointed it at his head, threatening to kill him and his family if he did not give up the password to the wallet on his laptop, and dangled him from the top of the building. Fearing for his life, he gave up his Bitcoins and then managed to escape from the apartment, flagging down a police officer for help.
Woeltz was arrested by the police and charged with kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a weapon. He was arraigned in the Manhattan criminal court and ordered to remain in custody and surrender his passport. Woeltz’s accomplice, Duplessie, was later arrested in Florida.
Carturan, who was a former partner in his cryptocurrency business, was lured back from Italy. The unsuspecting victim arrived at Woeltz’s home on Prince Street, where he was tortured to extort him for millions of dollars in crypto.
John Woeltz: Background
Before this incident, John “Crypto King of Kentucky” Woeltz was known in the crypto circles as a security-minded developer and early adopter of digital currencies. He was a former core team member of the privacy-focused cryptocurrency project, Grin, playing an important role in the protocol’s early development. However, the programmer who was active on GitHub left Grin in 2020, and since then, his activity on the platform seems to have dropped off.
He entered the crypto world in 2018, when he was part of the winning team at the ETHGlobal San Francisco hackathon. Woeltz then went on to become the managing director of Silicon River Capital, a blockchain-based investment fund.
More recently, he has been involved with the Bitcoin mining industry in Kentucky. The state’s office of technology appointed him to a working group focused on studying the application of blockchain technology in critical infrastructure, public utilities, telecommunications, and emergency services.
Woeltz is said to have amassed significant wealth through his crypto investments, with reports suggesting that his net worth exceeds $100 million.
It is also worth noting that while Woeltz is described as a prominent crypto figure, the exact nature of his involvement is difficult to verify and remains unclear. Since his arrest, the whitepaper linked to one of his projects has been inaccessible, raising concerns surrounding the transparency and credibility of his crypto endeavors.
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What is the lesson learnt from John Woeltz’s Case?
The cryptocurrency space can sometimes be exploited by individuals with evil intentions. While most crypto users are law-abiding citizens or freedom-loving individuals, bad actors can target people with visible wealth in the space.
While the industry has often been associated with freedom and decentralization, that individual freedom comes with personal responsibility. The case involving Woeltz and Carturan is a reminder to investors that while financial independence is desirable, it could make those with considerable wealth vulnerable if the right precautions aren’t taken.
This incident may prompt important conversations surrounding crypto regulation, privacy, and ethics. It surely will give rise to discussions within the broader community about the industry’s vulnerabilities.