Overview

• John Woeltz posted the $1 million bond after spending over two months at Rikers Island and pleaded not guilty to charges including kidnapping and assault.
• His co-defendant, William Duplessie, remains jailed pending their October court date after surrendering to authorities in late May.
• Prosecutors allege the investors lured Italian trader Michael Carturan to a SoHo townhouse in early May, subjected him to electric shocks, chainsaw cuts, other brutal tactics for 17 days to force him to divulge his Bitcoin password.
• Authorities say the motive was to seize Carturan’s Bitcoin holdings, estimated at around $100 million.
• Defense attorneys question the torture claims, arguing video evidence shows Carturan’s participation in consensual group activities rather than nonconsensual violence.