Crypto Investor John Woeltz Charged with Kidnapping and Torturing Italian Tourist for Weeks in Upscale N.Y.C. Apartment

A cryptocurrency investor has been charged after police claim he kidnapped and tortured an Italian tourist for more than two weeks in New York City. 

John Woeltz, 37, was arrested on Friday, May 23, per a statement from the New York Police Department (NYPD) obtained by PEOPLE, after the tourist, 28, escaped from an upscale N.Y.C. apartment that morning and told an on-duty traffic agent that he had been “held against his will” since May 6. 

“The male [tourist] further stated he had been routinely assaulted during his captivity,” the NYPD said. The victim was transported to NYC Health and Hospitals in stable condition. 

On Saturday, May 24, Woeltz was charged with two counts of second-degree assault and one charge each of kidnapping, imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm. 

The Associated Press reported that the victim was held captive for not giving up his Bitcoin password. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told the outlet that Woeltz is being held without bail.

PEOPLE reached out to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Woeltz’s lawyer, Wayne Gosnell, for comment and additional information on Sunday, May 25, but did not immediately hear back. 

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Beatrice Folchi, 24, was also taken into custody in relation to the crime on May 24 and faces one count each of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree unlawful imprisonment, according to CBS News.

However, The New York Post reported that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute Folchi, pending further investigation.

Folchi worked as Woeltz’s assistant, police sources told the Post.

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The victim told police he arrived in the U.S. from Italy on May 6 and went to Woeltz’s rented home, police sources previously told WNBC.

The victim said he and Woeltz had previously done business together, WABC reported, citing police sources.

Their relationship soured after a dispute and the victim went back to Italy, but Woeltz allegedly convinced him to return to Manhattan, where he was held against his will, per police sources.

The victim told police that Woeltz allegedly took the victim’s passport and tortured him, per WNBC’s police sources. The outlet also stated that police found Polaroid pictures of the victim tied up and being tortured.

Police reportedly recovered a gun and several torture devices, per WNBC and WABC.