Chronicle

Kidnapped and tortured in New York: man arrested, woman also under investigation

Michael Valentino Carturan, 29, from Turin, was tied to a chair, forced to take drugs, threatened with a chainsaw to extort his bank account password

24 May 2025Aggiornato il 25 maggio 2025, ore 16:06]

Un frame di un video della Polizia di New York. diffuso dal Daily News, mostra il momento dell'arresto di John Woeltz, un trader di criptovalute, sospettato di aver rapito e torturato un turista italiano, identificato in Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan. New York, 24 maggio 2025. Daily News / Nypd Handout / 111

3' min read

Key points

The victim was originally from the Turin area.
The story
Torture
Involving a woman from Latina

3' min read

Tied to a chair, forced to take drugs, threatened with a chainsaw. Italian Michael Valentino Theophrastus Carturan was seized and tortured for about two weeks in a luxury flat in New York before he managed to escape and set off the alarm.

The victim was originally from the Turin area

Carturan is originally from Rivoli (Turin). The 29-year-old, who has no criminal record against him, graduated from an art high school in Turin and later studied permaculture, a system of land design that harmoniously integrates humans with the environment. His attacker,John Woeltz, was arrested, while a woman from Latina - Beatrice Folchi - is suspected of complicity.

The affair

The 29-year-old Italian had arrived in New York on 6 May to meet John Woeltz, a cryptocurrency trader with whom he had previously done some business. Then, apparently due to some disagreements, he had returned to Italy. However, Woetlz had convinced him to return. Arriving in the Big Apple, Carturan went to the trader's home, an extra-luxury dwelling between Prince Street and Mulberry Street, rented for several tens of thousands of dollars a month.

L’appartamento

Tra Soho e Lower Manhattan

According to a report in the New York Post, the cryptocurrency trader has a wealth of around $100 million. Woeltz also owns a helicopter, which is why the authorities have requested that he remain in jail without bail. It is unclear how much time Woeltz spent in New York before his arrest and how he got rich.

Shortly after his arrival, the Italian was stripped of his passport and mobile phone. His kidnapping had at that point officially begun. The captivity lasted about two weeks, until 23 May, amid threats and torture with the aim - according to rumours - of extorting the passwords to his crypto accounts.

The authorities believe that the Italian tourist fell victim to a trap: Woeltz in fact presented himself as a digital investment expert although he had no licence to operate, and had established contacts with several young Europeans active in the blockchain sector. Among them was Carturan. Investigators are investigating similar crimes to ascertain any connections.

Torture

During the two weeks of torture, the Italian citizen waswired to a chair, tazed while his feet were submerged in water, threatened with a chainsaw and psychologically abused. The attacker held Carturan upside down from the top of a ladder and threatened to kill his family. An Apple Airtag was placed on him to minutely monitor his movements.

Despite this, the boy eventually managed to free himself and escape. As soon as he exited the house of horrors, he stopped a traffic officer and raised the alarm. The police went to the flat and arrested Woeltz, who was photographed in a bathrobe and handcuffs as he was carried out by the officers amidst the curious looks of the neighbours. Instruments of torture were found in the apartment, but also photos taken with a Polaroid camera in which Carturan is immortalised tied to a chair and holding a gun to his head.

Carturan was transported to Bellevue hospital shortly after raising the alarm and was discharged. His testimony is now central to nailing his attacker so as to prevent other young people from falling into similar traps.

Involving a woman from Latina

Along with John Woeltz, a woman originally from Latina would also be involved. She is Beatrice Folchi, according to the New York Post. Beatrice Folchi said she was not involved in the torture Carturan suffered. "I am not under arrest. I can't comment now,' the woman told the New York Post, which tried to interview her near her Chelsea flat.

Folchi has played some parts in TV series, studied communication and philosophy at the University of Connecticut, and then held roles in marketing for some clients such as Rolls Royce and Bentley, adds the newspaper.