Assistant to Crypto Executive Arrested in Connection with Alleged Kidnapping and Torture of Former Business Partner in Luxury NYC Apartment
THE glamorous assistant of a $100 million crypto executive has been taken into custody following allegations that a former associate was kidnapped and subjected to chainsaw torture in a luxurious NYC penthouse.
On Friday, Beatrice Folchi was apprehended at a Soho residence where an Italian man alleges he was detained and tortured for several weeks by crypto executive John Woeltz, who purportedly aimed to extract his crypto password through coercion.
According to police sources, as reported by The New York Post, Folchi, a striking brunette who previously attended the University of Connecticut and claims experience with high-end brands such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley, acted as Woeltz’s aide.
The 24-year old was charged with first-degree kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.
But the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute — for now — citing an ongoing investigation.
Folchi, who is originally from Latina, Italy, according to her Facebook, was seen strolling near her Chelsea apartment Saturday when she denied involvement.
“I’m not arrested,” she told The Post while wearing an all-black ensemble, dark sunglasses, and toting a nearly $1,300 Stella McCartney bag.
“Everything is going to be told but with a lawyer — I can’t make any comments right now,” she added before turning and walking away.
Folchi reportedly studied communication and philosophy from 2017 to 2020.
She boasts on LinkedIn that she’s “experienced in managing media production and events for prestigious clients in the sports and automotive industries, including Puma, Manchester City, Rolls-Royce, and Bentley.”
Her online acting profiles show she’s also starred in a handful of films and shorts, including the 2021 drama Butterfly Wings.
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Her arrest comes after her boss, 37-year-old Kentucky-based John Woeltz, was cuffed over what police described as a sadistic torture campaign aimed at accessing the victim’s crypto fortune.
The tourist, from Turin, Italy, told cops he had done business with Woeltz in the past but the relationship soured.
He said Woeltz lured him back to the US on May 6 — then allegedly seized his passport and began an ordeal straight out of a horror movie.
According to investigators, Woeltz bound the man with electrical cords, electrocuted him, tased him with his feet in water, pistol-whipped him, and threatened to saw off his limbs with an electric chainsaw.
Woeltz even reportedly took Polaroids of the torture — including one where the victim is seen tied to a chair with a gun to his head — in an apparent bid to extort money from the victim’s family in Italy.
Cops said the victim was forced to take cocaine and subjected to psychological torment, including being fitted with an Apple AirTag around his neck to track his every move.
The man managed to flee after Woeltz allegedly declared it would be his “death day.”
He was found with numerous injuries, including one suspected to be from a chainsaw.
He is now recovering at Bellevue Hospital.
Woeltz has been charged with two counts of assault, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal possession of a firearm.
Police recovered a gun at the scene and are continuing to search the apartment under a warrant.
The investigation remains ongoing.