Accused crypto-kidnapper held without bail during Saturday court appearance

The twisted crypto king accused of kidnapping and torturing an Italian man for his Bitcoin password in a posh Soho pad is worth $100 million, according to law enforcement sources — who described the victim’s harrowing, weeks-long ordeal as “The Wolf of Wall Street” meets “American Psycho.”

A sallow looking John Woeltz spoke only briefly during his Saturday appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he was ordered held without bail and told to stay away from the victim.

Woeltz, 37, muttered a nearly silent “yes” when Judge Eric Schumacher asked during the proceedings if he had a gun.

The Kentucky native didn’t have a weapon in New York, but did have one in his home state, his attorney told the court Saturday, as chilling new details of the twisted plot to allegedly force the victim to hand over his Bitcoin password emerged, including:

• Woeltz allegedly threatened to kill the 28-year-old victim’s family in Italy and, at one point, “carried the victim to the top flight of stairs of the apartment in the compound and hung the victim over the ledge, after threatening to kill the victim if the victim did not provide the defendant with the victim’s Bitcoin password,” Assistant District Attorney Michael Mattson told Schumacher.
• The victim, also a crypto trader who sources said is worth about $30 million, was urinated on and forced to take drugs during the ordeal, prosecutors said
• Authorities found T-shirts with an image of the victim with crack cocaine in his mouth
• Woeltz has a private jet and a helicopter, authorities said as they requested he be held without bail. Public records also show Woeltz as the owner of a 150-acre spread in Kentucky
• The victim, from Turin, Italy, had told his family that he was traveling to the US “for a trip of tourism and language learning,” the Italian news outlet la Repubblica reported.
• The man, who prosecutors said made a daring escape after nearly three weeks of physical abuse, had at one point been studying psychology in college, but then dropped out to trade crypto, according to another Italian news report.

The victim managed his made-for-television escape by telling Woeltz he would give up the password by plugging it into his laptop, the ADA said.

When Woeltz turned his back to get the computer, the bloodied victim — who had no shoes on — bolted down the stairs and fled to the street, where he was flagged down a traffic cop.

The nightmare began May 6, when the victim arrived in the city from Turin, where he lives with his family.

When he went to meet Woeltz at the luxurious, eight-bedroom Prince Street pad the Kentucky man had allegedly been renting for $30,000 to $40,000 a month, the crypto bigshot and a pal allegedly snatched his passport and electronics, and they demanded he provide them with his Bitcoin password, authorities said.

The home had stripper poles in the basement and cases of Cristal, said law enforcement sources, with one describing it as a “crypto commune.”

NYPD detectives continued to pour through the home Saturday and could be seen removing bags of evidence, including one white box with an illustration of a handgun on the outside.

The victim suffered a litany of torture, according to sources and prosecutors.

He was tied up and bound to a chair with electrical wire, tased while his feet were placed in water and cut on his legs and arm with a chainsaw, sources said.

Polaroids inside the property showed the bound man, who had a gun pointed at his head in one and was being forced to smoke crack cocaine through a pipe in another, sources said.

Along with the Polaroids — which were likely intended to be used to extort money either from the victim or his family, police discovered night vision goggles, a bulletproof vest, ballistic helmets, a firearm and ammunition in the blood-soaked torture chamber, cop sources and prosectors said.

The victim also had an Apple AirTag tied around his neck.

At least one suspect, who is believed to have worked for Woeltz, is still being sought, sources said, while Woeltz’ assistant, Beatrice Folchi, was initially held on kidnapping charges but let go after the district attorney declined to prosecute, pending further investigation.

The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital with injuries including a wound on his arm believed to be from a chainsaw and a cut on his head from being pistol-whipped, according to sources and a criminal complaint.

It’s unclear how much time Woeltz spent in the city before his arrest, or how he amassed his wealth. Sources said he worked in blockchain and other cryptocurrency identifying security flaws, and may have been involved in a hedge fund that invested in crypto assets.

He owns a nearly 150-acre farm in Smithland, Ky., worth more than $860,000.

A relative insisted the suspect was “an easy victim” who was forced into the sick situation.

“He’s a kind, caring, loving person, so he was completely controlled by other people,” the relative said of Woeltz, calling him “easily manipulated.”

“I’m getting calls from John’s friends, girlfriends, everyone saying, ‘John was railroaded,’ ” she claimed.

“He was hijacked and manipulated and scammed. I think they stole his money as well.

“He’s a victim.”

Woeltz did not enter a plea Saturday and faces a slew of charges including first-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

Woeltz, who appeared in court with his hands cuffed behind his back, “has the means to flee,” Mattson told the judge while calling for him to be sent to jail without bail.

Schumacher granted the request and issued an order of protection to the victim.

Woeltz’s lawyer, Wayne Gosnell, did not request bail during the arraignment and declined to comment afterward.

Woeltz faces 15 to 25 years in prison on the charges.

Additional reporting by Angela Barbuti, Khristina Narizhnaya, Melanie Marich and Tina Moore