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Two self-styled “Crypto Bros” are facing shocking criminal charges after allegedly kidnapping and torturing a European crypto millionaire. They’re now also suspected of holding another tourist hostage during a drug-fueled weekend in rural Kentucky.

Crypto Party Turns Dark

Under the guise of a cryptocurrency investment opportunity, William Duplessie, 33, and John Woeltz, 37, flew a group of people on a private jet.

The pair allegedly lured wealthy European investors, models, hangers-on, and socialites to a lavish black-marble-floored mansion in Smithland, Kentucky — 135 miles southwest of Louisville — under the guise of a cryptocurrency investment opportunity.

 According to the Wall Street Journal, the gathering quickly spiraled into a paranoid and drug-fueled frenzy.

High on cocaine and heavily armed, the duo reportedly boasted to guests that they were former intelligence agents who had kidnapped a German man, stolen his crypto, and killed him.

Was there a Prior Hostage?

Records show that days before the high-profile SoHo kidnapping case, another disturbing incident was unfolding.

A Holiday Inn clerk in Paducah, Kentucky, called 911 after a distressed guest showed them translated texts from her son, visiting from Switzerland. The messages said:

“They don’t want to let me go, bitcoin… Need help, they are armed to the brim.”

The man, later identified as Michael Mauer, had previously worked with Woeltz on a crypto venture called Grin Coin. Police eventually located Mauer and released him.

The property where he was allegedly held had already been flagged by law enforcement for ongoing issues.

More Information

Crypto Bros granted $1M bail

Swiss crypto exec questioned

Crypto party turns criminal

Video shows Carturan escape

SoHo Crypto Torture Case

On May 23, Duplessie and Woeltz were arrested and charged with kidnapping 28-year-old Italian crypto trader Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan.

Prosecutors allege that the pair held Carturan hostage and tortured him in a SoHo townhouse while trying to extract his crypto wallet passwords.

According to video footage, Carturan fled the townhouse barefoot, appearing visibly shaken. Prosecutors say the men wrote a “manifesto” outlining their plot to steal crypto from foreign investors.

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Crypto Bros Bail and Denials

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Sarah Khan unsuccessfully argued that the pair should remain behind bars, citing the international scope and disturbing nature of the allegations.