Bitcoin investor held hostage, tortured for weeks in NYC, prosecutors say

Two defendants pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and torturing a man for weeks over his wallet password.

Kidnappings are becoming a serious threat to high-profile crypto investors. On Wednesday, June 11, John Woeltz, 37, and William Duplessie, 33, pleaded not guilty to kidnapping a Bitcoin investor and attempting to steal his wallet data.

According to prosecutors, the two men held and tortured the victim for three weeks starting on May 6, in a luxury SoHo apartment in New York. They allegedly beat him, shocked him with electric wires, and held him over a staircase before he managed to escape.

The torture was intended to force the investor to hand over his Bitcoin wallet password, which would have given the attackers control over his crypto. If convicted, both suspects face up to life in prison for the brutal kidnapping.

Bitcoin kidnappings become an increasing risk

High-profile Bitcoin and crypto investors are increasingly attractive targets for kidnappers. Unlike traditional banking transfers, crypto transactions cannot be canceled or reversed. This means that once attackers gain access to funds, there is almost no way to retrieve them.

For this reason, kidnappers tend to target individuals known to hold substantial crypto investments. Notably, France has become a major epicenter for crypto kidnappings, with at least six incidents recorded by May of 2025.

Both crypto investors and their families are at risk when it comes to kidnappings. In a high-profile case in France, masked attackers attempted to kidnap the daughter and the grandson of Pierre Noizat, the CEO of crypto exchange Paymium.

To protect themselves, crypto holders should never advertise their assets or disclose balances. At the same time, large holdings should be kept on cold storage devices or with custodians, so attackers cannot easily access them.