Third Suspect Arrested in Bitcoin Torture Case
Background of the Incident
On May 27, 2025, police in Manhattan apprehended the third suspect in a chilling case of kidnapping and torture tied to a victim’s bitcoin holdings. Italian national Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan escaped after three weeks of alleged captivity in a luxury townhouse, fleeing to a traffic officer and recounting details of a brutal scheme to extract his bitcoin wallet password.
Details of the Attack
Carturan told investigators he was bound with electrical cords, whipped with a handgun, and had his feet submerged in water while receiving repeated jolts from a Taser device. In one harrowing episode, he was suspended over a fifth-floor ledge, and torturers threatened harm to his family if he refused to cooperate. Despite continuous assault, Carturan never disclosed his mnemonic seed phrase or private key — a defiance that only intensified the violence.
Arrests and Evidence Seized
- John Woeltz, 37: Former managing director at a crypto hedge fund; held without bail on charges of assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal weapon possession.
- William Duplessie, 33: Surrendered after multi-day negotiations; faces kidnapping and false imprisonment counts. Duplessie is known to have ties to Switzerland and Miami.
- Beatrice Folchi, 24: Initially detained, later released under deferred prosecution after agreeing to testify.
Police executed a search warrant at the townhouse, retrieving high-resolution photographs of the torture, a ballistic vest, multiple firearms, and damaged furniture. Two household staff members — identified as butlers — cooperated with the investigation, confirming Carturan’s account.
Rise of “Wrench Attacks” in Crypto Crime
So-called “wrench attacks”—where perpetrators resort to extreme violence to force victims to hand over private keys—have surged alongside bitcoin’s price, which recently peaked above $80,000. Experts at Chainalysis report a 30% year-over-year rise in kidnapping and extortion cases tied to cryptocurrencies.
Modus Operandi
- Target Identification: Criminals exploit data breaches at exchanges or conduct social-media reconnaissance to locate high-net-worth individuals.
- Kidnapping & Torture: Victims are moved to secluded residences equipped with surveillance cameras to monitor compliance.
- Extraction Attempt: Physical coercion, including beatings, electrical shocks, and water immersion, to compel disclosure of wallet credentials.
- Post-Operation Money Laundering: Stolen funds are quickly distributed through mixers and privacy coins like Monero to obfuscate the transaction trail.
Technical Analysis: Hardware Wallet Security
Most victims targeted in wrench attacks store private keys on hardware wallets (e.g., Trezor, Ledger, Coldcard). Unlike hot wallets, these devices isolate seed phrases in secure elements with PIN protection and passphrase support:
- Secure Element: A tamper-resistant chip that prevents direct firmware manipulation or side-channel attacks.
- PIN Retry Limit: Devices erase the master key after a configurable number of incorrect attempts, thwarting brute-force efforts.
- Optional Passphrase: Users can add a 25th word to their BIP-39 mnemonic, creating a hidden wallet inaccessible without the extra passphrase.
Despite these safeguards, physical coercion bypasses technical controls. Industry experts advocate multisignature (multisig) setups, distributing approval keys across multiple hardware devices or geographic locations, making single-point extraction far more difficult.
Law Enforcement and Forensic Tactics
Detectives used digital forensics and geolocation data from seized smartphones to trace suspect movements. Surveillance camera feeds in the surrounding block and license-plate recognition helped piece together the network’s operations. The NYPD’s Cybercrime Division collaborated with the FBI’s Financial Crimes Task Force, leveraging blockchain analytics tools from Elliptic and CipherTrace to track outgoing transactions and freeze exchange accounts potentially funded by the stolen bitcoin.
Expert Opinions on Mitigation Strategies
“Wrench attacks underscore the need for decentralized key custody: no single individual should hold all the credentials,” says Dr. Elena Petrova, a cryptography researcher at MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative. “Combining multisig with time-lock contracts can give victims a grace period to trigger alerts.”
“Exchanges must bolster KYC protocols and real-time monitoring to flag abnormal withdrawal patterns,” advises Martin Gibbs, former cyber analyst at Europol. “Integrate automated risk scoring to detect potential coercion-based transfers.”
Legal and Policy Implications
This case has prompted New York legislators to propose amendments to state law, enhancing penalties for crypto-related violent crimes and mandating stricter custody regulations for institutional holders. Lawmakers are also considering mandatory insurance coverage for stored digital assets and requirement of tamper-evident logging in cold-storage facilities holding over $10 million in crypto assets.
Conclusion and Ongoing Investigations
As Woeltz and Duplessie await trial, investigators continue to probe their network, search for additional accomplices, and trace the final destination of the ill-gotten bitcoin. The case highlights a dangerous intersection of physical violence and digital gold, underscoring the importance of both technological safeguards and law enforcement coordination in the evolving crypto landscape.