NEW YORK – The “crypto bros” who allegedly tortured an Italian millionaire to obtain his Bitcoin password have been granted $1 million bail each, the New York Post reports.
Crypto bros granted bail, but can’t pay in Bitcoin
What we know:
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro warned the aforementioned “bros” – 33-year-old William Duplessie and 37-year-old John Woeltz – that they will not be allowed to pay the bail with cryptocurrency.
Duplessie and Woeltz will be released from jail into home confinement if they are able to pay the bail.
Both have pleaded not guilty to kidnapping charges.
The backstory:
Police say the victim, a 28-year-old man from Italy, arrived in New York City in early May.
On May 6, he was abducted and taken to an eight-bedroom townhouse in SoHo, where prosecutors say he was held captive for nearly three weeks.
Inside the home, William Duplessie and John Woeltz allegedly drugged him, beat him with a gun, and shocked him with electric wires. At one point, they carried him to the top of a staircase and threatened to throw him over a ledge if he didn’t reveal his Bitcoin password.
Eventually, the victim agreed to give up the password, which was stored on his laptop in another room. When one of the suspects turned his back, he seized the chance to escape, running out of the townhouse and flagging down a traffic officer.
He was taken to a hospital and treated for injuries that prosecutors say matched his account.
Investigators later searched the townhouse and found cocaine, a saw, chicken wire, body armor, night vision goggles, ammunition and polaroid photos showing a gun pointed at the victim’s head.
Who are the “crypto bros”?
John Woeltz, 37, is a cryptocurrency investor now at the center of a brutal kidnapping case. He was arraigned on charges of kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm.
William Duplessie, 33, of Miami, cahrged with assault and kidnapping in Manhattan, New York, on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News via Getty Images)
William Duplessie, 32, faces the same charges in the case: kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a weapon. He turned himself in to police four days after the victim escaped from the townhouse and flagged down a traffic officer.
The Source: This article includes reporting from the New York Post.
Crime and Public Safety
