In a shocking turn of events, another high-profile crypto investor has been taken into custody in connection with a disturbing and violent crime involving a wealthy Italian crypto entrepreneur.

According to reports from last week, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, 28, allegedly managed to escape from a luxurious apartment in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood and alerted a traffic agent to his horrific ordeal, which included imprisonment and torture over a period of approximately two weeks. The details of his experience, as described to the authorities, resembled a frightening horror movie plot: Carturan claimed to have been held captive in the 17-room townhouse, where he was bound with electrical tape, pistol-whipped, shocked with a taser while his feet were submerged in water, and even threatened with a chainsaw. Furthermore, he alleged that his captors dangled him off the roof of the building. Law enforcement sources indicate that Carturan’s account is largely corroborated by Polaroid photos taken of the crimes and left at the scene. The apparent motivation behind subjecting Carturan to such treatment was to obtain access to his crypto account, which was valued at millions of dollars, as stated in a criminal complaint.

This week, William Duplessie, a 33-year-old from Florida, surrendered to the authorities for his purported involvement in this violent incident, as reported by the New York Times. Duplessie has been identified as a crypto investor. His arrest follows the apprehension of 37-year-old John Woeltz, who was taken into custody last week for his alleged role in the kidnapping and torture of Carturan. Woeltz, also a crypto investor from Kentucky, was reportedly leasing the $30,000-a-month apartment where Carturan’s gruesome ordeal allegedly occurred.

A 24-year-old woman, Beatrice Folchi, was also apprehended last week and faced charges of kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. However, Folchi was released after the Manhattan DA’s Office declined to pursue the case pending further investigation, as reported by the New York Post. Folchi was later spotted on the streets of New York and denied to reporters that she had been arrested. The nature of her connection to Woeltz and Duplessie remains unclear. She has been described as an “aspiring actress,” a marketing specialist, and Woeltz’s assistant.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch subsequently stated that Duplessie would be “charged, along with Mr. Woeltz, with kidnapping and false imprisonment of an associate.”

A surge of violent crime has affected the crypto community over the past year, with kidnappings, assaults, and murders targeting prominent HODLers. Organized and disorganized criminal groups have sensed opportunities in the offline assets of crypto investors, leading to this increase in crime.