New York, NY – Could 28, 2025
William Duplessie, a 33-year-old cryptocurrency entrepreneur from Miami, Florida, surrendered to the New York Police Division (NYPD) on Tuesday, Could 27, 2025, dealing with critical fees in reference to the alleged kidnapping and torture of a 28-year-old Italian cryptocurrency dealer in a luxurious SoHo townhouse. The case, which has drawn important consideration resulting from its ties to the unstable crypto market, facilities on a violent try and extract a Bitcoin password from the sufferer.
Particulars of the Alleged Crime
Duplessie is charged with second-degree assault, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree illegal imprisonment, and prison possession of a firearm, in accordance with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The sufferer, who arrived in New York from Italy on Could 6, 2025, was allegedly held captive for weeks in an eight-bedroom Nolita residence, subjected to beatings, electrical shocks, and threats towards his household to coerce him into revealing his Bitcoin password. The ordeal ended when the sufferer escaped on Friday, Could 23, 2025, bloodied and barefoot, and flagged down a visitors officer for assist.
Duplessie, recognized as a enterprise associate of John Woeltz, a 37-year-old Kentucky native often called the “crypto king of Kentucky,” surrendered along with his attorneys to the NYPD’s Main Case Squad. Woeltz was arrested the identical day the sufferer escaped and faces related fees, together with kidnapping and assault. Authorities imagine the connection among the many three males was tumultuous, although particular particulars stay unclear. The Manhattan District Lawyer’s workplace said that the sufferer was tortured for days and dangled over a railing to strain him into complying, however he refused to offer the password. Police are nonetheless searching for at the very least one extra suspect.
Duplessie’s Background in Crypto
William A. Duplessie, born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, is a seasoned blockchain entrepreneur who entered the cryptocurrency house in 2012. He co-founded Coinconnect.com in 2014, an academic platform and Bitcoin alternate focusing on millennials and school college students, and performed a key function in designing the second-ever safety token for Science Blockchain (SCI). Duplessie additionally served as a enterprise associate and advisory lead for Distributed Community Advisors (DNA) in Santa Monica, California, and co-founded Theorem Labs, a pacesetter in ICO neighborhood constructing. Since 2019, he has been co-founder and head of sourcing at Pangea Blockchain Fund in Switzerland, specializing in business blockchain functions, and is a founding board member of the Ticino Blockchain Applied sciences Affiliation.
Duplessie’s investments embrace firms like Axie Infinity, Proof Of Affect, and Habitas, and he has been a vocal advocate for Bitcoin’s potential, as soon as predicting it might attain $1 million. His LinkedIn and social media profiles spotlight his early publicity to finance, studying from his father, a bond dealer, and his schooling at Tulane College’s A.B. Freeman Faculty of Enterprise since 2015.
Authorized and Public Response
Duplessie’s arraignment happened on Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan court docket, although it stays unclear whether or not he has authorized illustration, as court docket data didn’t record an legal professional. Woeltz’s legal professional has declined to remark, and Duplessie’s legal professionals additionally shunned public statements throughout his high-profile perp stroll, which was extensively lined by shops like TMZ.
Posts on X mirror a mixture of shock and intrigue, with customers like @totalcrime and @benryanwriter detailing the “wild” nature of the case, describing it as one of the crucial dramatic crypto-related crimes to this point. Others, like @CB_Cotton, famous Duplessie’s Swiss connections, hinting on the worldwide scope of his crypto ventures. The case has sparked discussions in regards to the dangers of cryptocurrency wealth, with @MackRosenberg emphasizing the mysterious relationship between the suspects and the sufferer.
Broader Implications
The incident underscores the high-stakes nature of cryptocurrency, the place important wealth can entice prison exercise. The SoHo townhouse, one among Manhattan’s costliest properties, served because the backdrop for what prosecutors describe as a calculated scheme to steal a Bitcoin fortune. Because the crypto market continues to develop—bolstered by the Trump administration’s pro-crypto insurance policies and anticipated stablecoin laws—the case highlights vulnerabilities for high-net-worth people within the house.
Duplessie’s arrest marks a big fall for a once-prominent determine within the blockchain neighborhood, elevating questions in regards to the intersection of wealth, expertise, and crime. Because the investigation continues, authorities are targeted on figuring out extra suspects and uncovering the total extent of the alleged scheme.
