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Crypto Investors Plead Not Guilty in SoHo Kidnapping and Torture Case

Their arraignment followed a federal raid on their Kentucky estate, marking the latest step in a probe prosecutors say has uncovered other victims.

Overview

  • John Woeltz, 37, and William Duplessie, 33, pleaded not guilty on June 11 to charges of kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and weapon possession and were ordered held without bail until a July 15 court date.
  • Prosecutors detailed alleged torture over a 17-day captivity in a Manhattan townhouse, including chainsaw cuts, electric shocks, pistol whipping and setting the victim on fire after dousing him with tequila.
  • On June 10, federal agents from the ATF, NYPD and Kentucky State Police executed warrants at the suspects’ $1 million Smithland, Kentucky, estate as part of an ongoing violent crime investigation.
  • Assistant District Attorney Sarah Khan told the court that conversations with other law enforcement agencies indicate Woeltz and Duplessie may have held at least two additional victims against their will.
  • Defense attorneys presented photos and videos showing the accuser smiling and leaving the townhouse freely, arguing he was never restrained or in distress during his time there.