What began as a story of privilege and promise ended in violence, paranoia, and one of the most disturbing crypto-related crimes in recent memory.
William Duplessie, the son of a wealthy investment manager, was born into comfort and opportunity but a toxic mix of addiction, conspiratorial delusion, and greed would send him spiraling into darkness.
The Fall of a Privileged Heir
Raised in the affluent enclave of Greenwich, Connecticut, Duplessie grew up next door to billionaire Ray Dalio. His father managed distressed-debt portfolios, moving in the same circles as Wall Street’s elite. But despite the family’s privilege, William’s life quickly veered off course.
By his late teens, he had already earned a reputation for violence and instability. After allegedly stabbing a drug dealer, he was expelled from his private high school in Stamford. His father sent him to China a desperate attempt at rehabilitation that failed.
College didn’t fare better. Duplessie bounced from Bard College to Tulane University, dropping out amid rumors of heavy drug use, impulsive outbursts, and suspected gang affiliations. Friends described him as “brilliant but volatile,” while classmates recalled a pattern of reckless behavior that only worsened over time.
The Crypto Reinvention
In 2018, amid the first crypto boom, Duplessie tried to reinvent himself. With his father facing financial troubles, the pair relocated to Switzerland, branding themselves as luxury investors managing a high-yield crypto and distressed-debt fund.
The plan seemed to work at first. They caught the attention of Roger Ver, the early Bitcoin advocate known as “Bitcoin Jesus.” Ver invested $2 million, and soon after, Swiss asset manager Copernicus contributed an additional $20 million.
Flush with cash, the Duplessies raised what some reports estimate to be over $100 million, funding lavish parties, luxury cars, and a life of excess. But by 2020, the empire began to crumble. The fund collapsed, investors pulled out, and father and son fled Switzerland under mounting scrutiny.
A Descent Into Paranoia and Violence
By 2024, Duplessie had fallen deeper into the crypto underworld. He began associating with John Woeltz, an early Bitcoin miner and reclusive multimillionaire with a growing obsession for surveillance, security, and self-sufficiency.
Together, the pair mixed a cocktail of paranoia and power. Their parties were stocked with cocaine, AR-15s, night-vision goggles, and military-grade equipment. What started as eccentric behavior soon escalated into something far darker.
They penned a “manifesto”, outlining plans to befriend, investigate, and rob wealthy crypto investors, whom they framed as “foreign agents” infiltrating the U.S. “We’re protecting America from evil outsiders,” Duplessie allegedly told one associate a delusional justification for what became a campaign of violence.
The Nolita Nightmare
Their first known victim was Michael Carturan, an Italian crypto developer rumored to hold $30 million in digital assets. Duplessie and Woeltz lured him to their $75,000-a-month townhouse in New York’s Nolita district, under the guise of a business partnership and shared interest in crypto startups.
Once inside their circle, Carturan’s life turned into a nightmare. He was subjected to psychological and physical torture whipped, electroshocked with a cattle prod, and burned all while Duplessie demanded access to his crypto keys.
The abuse was reportedly carried out in front of guests, including young women who were plied with gifts and drugs. Some mistook the violence for bizarre “party games.” Others later told investigators they were “terrified” but too shocked to intervene.
On May 22, 2024, Carturan finally escaped bloodied, barefoot, and disoriented flagging down a New York traffic officer who called for backup. Police raided the townhouse hours later, uncovering firearms, ammunition, cocaine, and crypto wallets.
Duplessie and Woeltz were arrested and now face charges of kidnapping, torture, and extortion in what prosecutors have dubbed one of the most twisted crimes in the crypto era.
The Making of a “Crypto Crusader”
Investigators say Duplessie viewed himself as a kind of vigilante, convinced he was fighting “foreign agents” corrupting the crypto industry. His fixation on conspiracy theories, fueled by drugs and delusion, became the ideological backdrop for his crimes.
According to court documents, he saw crypto not just as wealth, but as warfare a digital battlefield where he believed he had divine sanction to strike back.
“His world blurred completely between paranoia and purpose,” one FBI official told reporters. “He stopped seeing victims as people just enemies in a self-invented war.”
The Crypto Underworld’s Dark Reflection
The Duplessie case stands as a chilling reminder of how money, ego, and misinformation can collide in the crypto age. What began as an experiment in decentralized wealth ended in coercion and cruelty a reflection of how far the pursuit of financial power can distort reality.
Today, Duplessie sits behind bars, awaiting trial. But the questions his story raises still linger:
What happens when crypto’s promise of freedom and innovation collides with obsession, privilege, and unchecked paranoia?
And how many more dark corners of the digital gold rush are still waiting to be uncovered?
