A second person wanted in the alleged crypto kidnapping case in New York City turned himself in to authorities Tuesday morning, police said.
William Duplessie, 33, of Florida was seen in handcuffs outside of the 13th Precinct in Manhattan. He was charged with kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm.
Police sources told CBS News New York the man is a business partner and alleged accomplice of 37-year-old John Woeltz, the cryptocurrency investor accused of kidnapping and torturing an Italian man earlier this month to steal his Bitcoin wallet worth millions of dollars.
Duplessie was arraigned Tuesday night. His lawyer says his client’s involvement is hotly disputed and that he showed good faith by turning himself in once he found out Woeltz had been arrested. The defense asked for $1 million bond and home detention with his father in Florida. Both were denied.
His private attorney had no comment, and neither did his father, who showed up in court to support his son and waved as he was remanded.
Duplessie is facing a minimum of 15 years to life for the assault charges and 25 years to life for the kidnapping charge. He is due back in court Friday. A full order of protection was granted; he is to have no contact with the victim whatsoever.
John Woeltz charged in alleged NYC crypto kidnapping
According to court documents, Woeltz and an accomplice held the victim captive inside a SoHo apartment on Prince Street for three weeks.
Prosecutors allege that while the victim was abducted, he was shocked with electric wires, his leg was cut with a saw, and he was forced to smoke crack cocaine. Investigators found body armor, night vision goggles, ammunition and t-shirts with a photo of a gun held to the victim’s head in the apartment.
“To be tortured for 17 days in terms of a chainsaw cutting your leg, in terms of putting your feet in the water and electrocuting him, in terms of making a person ingest narcotics, horrible crime,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said.
Investigators claim Woeltz and his accomplice took the victim’s electronics and passports, hid them, and then threatened to kill the victim and his family unless he gave up his Bitcoin password on his laptop.
The victim managed to escape last Friday and flagged down a nearby traffic agent.
Woeltz was charged with kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a weapon. He was ordered to remain in custody and surrender his passport as he awaits his next court hearing on Wednesday.
“As to who did what, what was their culpability, there’s still an investigation that’s still going to find exactly,” Chell said.
The crypto investor, originally from Kentucky, rents a unit in the SoHo apartment building for somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000 per month, sources told CBS News New York.
Cryptocurrency-related crimes “a thing” now, attorney says
The harrowing case is one of several in recent months where high-ranking crypto executives and, at times, their relatives have been kidnapped or assaulted for ransom.
“It’s becoming a thing because people think it’s an easy way to get cash. Instead of robbing a bank, they can kidnap someone and get access to their Bitcoin wallet or crypto wallet,” said David Seltzer, a criminal defense attorney who specializes in cyber crime. “Cryptocurrency could be easier to catch somebody. It might be easier to find but more difficult to decrypt the currency and actually get their hands on it. The good thing about crypto is the security base. People just can’t steal you crypto. When you sign up for a crypto wallet, you need to remember that pin, write it down, remember the codes.”
Initially, police also arrested a 24-year-old woman in the SoHo case, but the Manhattan District Attorney’s office declined to prosecute her pending further investigation.
