Crypto Investor Accused of Kidnapping Partner for Bitcoin Password

So, get this wild story out of New York City. Apparently, a guy who does stuff with crypto got arrested cause they say he kidnapped his business buddy. Like, for three whole weeks! This all went down in a fancy part of Manhattan called Soho.

The story goes that this 37-year-old investor, John Woeltz, was trying to get his business partner's Bitcoin password. They even say he zapped the guy with electric wires and even dangled him over a staircase. Seriously messed up, right?

Prosecutors spilled the beans on Wednesday about this whole ordeal. John Woeltz got picked up by the cops back on May 23rd, the court papers show. Another guy, William Duplessie, is also supposedly involved.

According to a complaint filed in court, the unnamed victim told the police that Woeltz and Duplessie took his gadgets and passport back on May 6th and demanded his password so they could swipe his cryptocurrency. Woeltz and Duplessie, who is 33, haven't said if they're guilty or not yet. Their lawyers didn't want to talk about it.

From what the local news says, Woeltz is described as a crypto investor, and the guy who was allegedly kidnapped is Italian. Both of them apparently had some connection to a crypto hedge fund in New York, according to the New York Times, who saw a police report mentioned by a law enforcement person.

When the victim wouldn't hand over his password, Woeltz and Duplessie allegedly started beating him up real bad until he finally got away weeks later. The complaint against them says they tied his wrists, hit his head with a gun, and even said they'd kill his family. Talk about scary!

Duplessie was arrested on Tuesday and is supposed to be in court for a preliminary hearing on Friday. Both of these guys have been ordered to stay locked up by the judges. Woeltz is scheduled to be arraigned on June 11th.

It really makes you wonder what drives someone to do something like this for cryptocurrency, doesn't it?