⚡️🇺🇸👮‍♂️ NEW - A crypto investor accused of kidnapping and torturing a man in New York to regain access to his Bitcoin wallet.

Another crazy story of crypto-related kidnapping unfolded this weekend, this time in the United States.

John Woeltz, 37, was taken into custody after his alleged victim escaped from a luxurious Manhattan townhouse where he had been held captive for weeks.

According to initial reports, the victim was tied up, beaten, drugged with crack cocaine and electrocuted in an attempt to force him to reveal his Bitcoin wallet password.

The victim stated that he had been bound by the wrists and tortured for weeks inside the apartment. His captors drugged him, used electric wires to electrocute him, hit him over the head with a gun and even carried him to the top of a staircase where they suspended him over a ledge and threatened to kill him. A chainsaw was allegedly used as leverage...

The victim is a 28-year-old Italian national who arrived in New York in early May and was abducted a few days later.

He finally managed to escape his captor's vigilance.

According to investigators, Woeltz did not act alone: a 24-year-old woman, Beatrice Folchi, was also involved in the crime.

A search uncovered cocaine, a saw, wire mesh, bulletproof vests, firearm ammunition, night-vision goggles and Polaroid photos of the victim with a gun to his head.

John Woeltz was arrested by police in his bathrobe and barefoot in his home.

Wrench attacks, physical assaults designed to forcibly extract victims' cryptocurrency credentials, are increasing at an alarming rate around the world, raising serious concerns throughout the community.