Overview

• William Duplessie and John Woeltz pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and weapons charges in the alleged abduction of Italian bitcoin millionaire Michael Carturan.
• Justice Gregory Carro set $1 million bonds for each defendant and ordered home confinement with electronic monitoring and passport surrender.
• The judge prohibited using cryptocurrency to pay bail to address concerns that digital assets could facilitate their flight.
• Investigators seized weapons, torture instruments and a manifesto outlining plans to steal foreigners’ crypto from the six-floor SoHo townhouse.
• Prosecutors are analyzing dozens of seized phones, laptops and crypto storage devices and probing links to other potential victims ahead of the October 15 hearing.