A $1 million mansion in Kentucky owned by the crypto bros jailed for allegedly torturing a man for his digital coins was raided by authorities Tuesday.
The six-bedroom waterfront home in Smithland – which appears to be styled after The White House – was bought by the self-styled ‘Crypto King of Kentucky’ John Woeltz and his business partner William Duplessie for $1m cash in January, multiple sources told The Post.
The house was raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the NYPD, with support from the Kentucky State Police, according to a release from authorities.
Video of the raid obtained by The Post shows armored vehicles being brought by truck into the town, which has a population of less than 300, and a series of unmarked black SUV vehicles and trucks at the property. It is unclear if anyone was inside at the time of the raid
Authorities have yet to say if anything was recovered from the property. Sources say one of the more unusual features of the house is it has a series of tunnels underneath it, accessible from the main house.
Woeltz, 33, and Duplessie, 37, are currently in jail over charges they allegedly held an associate, Michael Carturan, captive in another house they were renting in New York. They are alleged to have and tortured him with a chainsaw while attempting to get him to hand over the password for his digital wallet containing $28m in cryptocurrency over 17 days in May, according to prosecutors.
A neighbor who lived opposite Woletz and Dupliessie in Smithland told The Post: “The two men we now know as the ‘crypto bros’ purchased the property at 101.
“There was talk they were looking at making the mansion a venue for events. They joined local societies and stuff like that and were trying to fit in.
“But there were all kinds of rumors going around. There was an awful lot of traffic, cars coming and going nonstop and stuff. At the same time there was an undercurrent that something wasn’t right,” said Joshua Johnson who lived opposite the mansion until recently.
New evidence against the pair was presented at a hearing Wednesday, where prosecutors accused them of holding another two people against their will and unveiled new evidence, including a photo of them setting Italian national Carturan on fire.
Woeltz and Duplessie are charged with kidnapping, assault and unlawful imprisonment and have both pleaded not guilty. Lawyers for both did not comment for this article.
Property deeds for the house obtained by The Post show it was bought by an Wyoming LLC, which was incorporated just weeks before the January 27 sale.
A source close to the sale told The Post: “Their cash was good and that’s all I know.”
The stunning property boasts 10 bathroom, an outdoor swimming pool and a tennis court, and sits on the bank of the Ohio river. Is known locally as the Strait house, after the family who previously lived there.
Carturan had raised the alarm against them after escaping from the house on Prince street where he claimed he had been held and flagging down a traffic officer on May 23.
During their time in New York, Woeltz and Duplessie, who hails from Connecticut, gained a reputation for their hard partying and lavish spending.
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