New York City police have apprehended two suspects in connection with the alleged kidnapping and torture of an Italian tourist, reportedly in an attempt to extort access to his financial accounts.
John Woeltz, 37, and a 24-year-old suspected female accomplice were arrested on Friday after the Italian man escaped from a high-end SoHo apartment and contacted authorities.
According to multiple local media reports, the tourist was lured to the apartment on May 6 under the pretense of a business deal. He was then allegedly captured, beaten, and tortured by Woeltz, who reportedly sought access to “millions of dollars.”
Woeltz was ordered held without bail by a Manhattan judge on Saturday.
Investigators reportedly discovered Polaroid photos at the scene documenting the abuse, including one image showing a gun pointed at the tourist’s head. The Italian man managed to escape shortly before he believed Woeltz intended to kill him, sources familiar with the investigation told the New York Post.
Woeltz, identified as an early adopter of Bitcoin since 2011, reportedly joined the development team of HCash (later HyperCash) in 2017 and later the core team of privacy-preserving cryptocurrency Grin. His GitHub account has been inactive since 2020. A copy of Woeltz’s presentation slides about a Grin security audit notably stated, “For Grin, loss of privacy is unacceptable, can lead to physical harm of user.”
Woeltz faces charges including two counts of second-degree assault, and one count each of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a firearm, as reported by CBS News. His alleged accomplice was reportedly charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree unlawful imprisonment.
