An ambitious young actress has been arrested in connection with a disturbing kidnapping and torture scheme that took place in a luxurious Manhattan mansion.
Beatrice Folchi, a 24-year-old aspiring actress from Italy currently residing in Connecticut, was among a group of individuals, known as ‘crypto bros,’ who were apprehended following the incident at a lavish $75,000-per-month brownstone in Soho.
It comes after a 28-year-old Italian tourist escaped the ‘house of horrors’ and flagged down a nearby cop after being locked away for three weeks.
Officers raided the address and 37-year-old John Woeltz was arrested and dramatically dragged out of the building in a white bath robe.
The victim had been tricked into visiting the residence under false pretenses, where one of the suspects, identified as a former business partner named Woeltz, allegedly attempted to extort millions of dollars from the victim’s cryptocurrency account.
The accused is said to have chained him up, electrocuted him, pistol-whipped him and threatened to cut him up with a chainsaw if he did not hand over his passwords.
A Polaroid found by investigators is said to show the man tied to a chair with a gun to his head – an image believed to pressure his family back home.
Police also recovered night vision goggles, a bulletproof vest, broken glass and a firearm at the scene.
Beatrice Folchi, 24, a striking brunette with a background in marketing for Rolls-Royce, was taken into custody on Friday at the $75,000-a-month SoHo townhouse
Folchi was arrested alongside John Woeltz, 37, and others in the apartment who allegedly chained up the tourist, taunted him with a chainsaw, and forced him to do cocaineÂ
The alleged torture occurred in this massive luxury townhouse in SoHo, a posh New York City neighborhood
Folchi, an Italian-born marketing manager and small-time actress, was reportedly working as Woeltz’s assistant at the time of the alleged crimes.
She was charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree unlawful imprisonment.
‘I’m not arrested,’ Folchi told reporters on Saturday. ‘Everything is going to be told but with a lawyer – I can’t make any comments right now.’
Folchi, according to her now-scrubbed LinkedIn profile, studied communication and philosophy at the University of Connecticut from 2017 to 2020.
Her professional bio claimed she had experience working with high-end brands like Puma, Manchester City, Rolls-Royce and Bentley.
Meanwhile, her IMDB and Backstage pages detail minor roles in short films, including a 2021 indie titled Butterfly Wings. Her social media is now mostly locked down.
Friends from the Connecticut suburbs where her family once lived told reporters her parents had recently rented out their home and returned to Italy.
Folchi, according to her now-scrubbed LinkedIn profile, studied communication and philosophy at the University of Connecticut from 2017 to 2020
The alleged torture took place for weeks in the beautiful SoHo home. The apartment was most recently listed for $75,000 a monthÂ
The victim, after enduring nearly three weeks of captivity, made a daring escape on Friday afternoon.Â
According to law enforcement sources, he had been told by his captors they planned to kill him later that day.
Bruised, cut, and visibly shaken, he ran through the streets of Lower Manhattan and flagged down a police officer.
Officers raided the Prince Street apartment and arrested Woeltz who was barefoot and wearing only a bathrobe at the time.
Investigators believe the motive was purely financial and the victim had been targeted specifically for his crypto holdings.
The victim is now recovering in a New York hospital. As of Saturday, no additional suspects have been named.
Woeltz, who previously kept a low profile despite flaunting crypto wealth online, is being held pending arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court.
He faces a barrage of felony charges including assault, kidnapping, and unlawful imprisonment.
