Briefly
- Two males alleged to have kidnapped and tortured a person for his crypto pleaded not responsible in NYC on Wednesday.
- The pair’s attorneys allege the accuser was free to maneuver about on days he was allegedly captured.
- The case is the most recent in a string of high-profile crypto “wrench assaults” this 12 months.
Two males alleged to have kidnapped and tortured a person for entry to his Bitcoin pleaded not responsible on Wednesday, with their respective attorneys saying the accuser might transfer freely all through New York on the times he was allegedly held captive.
Attorneys for William Duplessie and John Woeltz stated the unidentified accuser might be seen in movies “laughing and smiling,” and smoking crack cocaine and collaborating in group intercourse, in line with a report from the Related Press.
“The story that he’s promoting doesn’t make sense,” Sam Talkin, Duplessie’s lawyer stated in felony courtroom on Wednesday, the AP reported.
The lawyer for Woeltz added that witnesses informed him the accuser moved about freely, opposite to accusations that he was held captive and tortured.
Woeltz was initially arrested and charged in late Might, after the accuser allegedly escaped a Manhattan townhouse the place he stated he was held. Based on prosecutors on the time, the alleged sufferer was sure, crushed, and electrocuted because the captors tried to realize entry to his crypto.
Assistant District Lawyer Sarah Khan stated that movies have been leaked to try to current a counter-narrative indicating that the accuser was not permitted to depart the home freely because the defendant’s attorneys declare, in line with the AP report
Police discovered proof like a chainsaw and loaded pistol, which assist corroborate the accuser’s story, alongside images of him with a gun to his head and one the place he’s being set on hearth, in line with a number of studies. No burn marks have been discovered on the alleged sufferer as a result of the defendants rapidly extinguished the flames, generally by urinating on him, per the AP.
Prosecutors moreover consider there could also be two further victims in different places, and that the defendants have held individuals in opposition to their will earlier than.
The pair, who have been charged with first-degree kidnapping, assault, and extra, may very well be sentenced to life in jail if convicted. They have been denied bail and might be detained till their subsequent courtroom look on July 15.
A third particular person was arrested and charged in connection to the plot, however later launched.
Bodily assaults and kidnappings of crypto buyers have change into extra high-profile this 12 months, with perpetrators concentrating on people like Ledger CEO David Balland and the household of Paymium CEO and co-founder, Pierre Noizat.
A database of crypto “wrench assaults,” or bodily altercations devised to steal somebody’s crypto, already showcases practically as many assaults in 2025 because the entirety of 2024.
Edited by James Rubin
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