From Privilege to Predator: How Conspiracy Theories Weaponized a Wealthy Trader's Paranoia

The story of William Duplessie reads like a cautionary tale about how unchecked wealth, radical ideology, and the crypto ecosystem’s lawlessness can transform a privileged individual into a violent criminal. Born in Greenwich, Connecticut—a town synonymous with old money and investment elite—Duplessie seemed destined for a stable financial future. His father managed distressed debt portfolios, placing the family in the upper echelons of American wealth. Yet by his late teens, something had fractured.

The Unraveling

Duplessie’s early years were marked by increasingly violent outbursts and substance abuse. After an alleged stabbing incident involving a drug dealer, he abandoned his private high school in Stamford. His father, hoping a change of scenery might help, sent him to China. Universities proved equally unsuccessful—Bard College saw him leave after one year of heavy partying; Tulane was next, with whispers of gang involvement and impulsive aggression following him out the door.

The turning point came in 2018 when Duplessie discovered cryptocurrency. It offered him something his previous life couldn’t: reinvention. When his father’s investment income declined, the pair relocated to Switzerland with an audacious plan—use their connections and lavish lifestyle to attract wealth management clients. The strategy worked. Roger Ver, famously known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” committed $2 million to their fund. With that endorsement, capital poured in from Copernicus, a Swiss asset manager contributing $20 million. By some estimates, they accumulated over $100 million. By 2020, the scheme had collapsed, and they vanished across borders.

The Militia Mindset

In 2024, Duplessie encountered John Woeltz, a reclusive early Bitcoin (BTC) miner and cryptocurrency millionaire. Woeltz’s worldview—centered on cybersecurity, survivalism, and self-sufficiency—proved intoxicating to Duplessie. Their gatherings transformed dramatically. Military-grade equipment appeared: night vision goggles, AR-15s, ammunition. They began drafting a manifesto. According to their twisted logic, wealthy cryptocurrency holders—particularly foreign nationals—posed a security threat to America. They weren’t criminals; they were patriots conducting counterintelligence operations.

The Captivity

Michael Carturan, an Italian programmer holding approximately $30 million in digital assets, became their target. Duplessie and Woeltz engineered an elaborate deception: a lucrative business partnership and exclusive access to their scene. They enticed Carturan to their $75,000-per-month townhouse in New York’s Nolita neighborhood.

What unfolded was a systematic campaign of torture designed to extract cryptocurrency keys. Carturan was subjected to escalating abuse—whipped, shocked repeatedly with a cattle prod, and burned. These acts often occurred in front of other guests, many of whom were young women plied with expensive gifts to normalize the brutality. Witnesses described Carturan as psychologically destroyed by the ordeal.

On May 22, Carturan managed his escape, stumbling barefoot and bloodied into the street where he flagged down a police officer. The revelation triggered immediate arrests. Duplessie and Woeltz now face trial, their conspiracy exposed as what it truly was: weaponized paranoia masquerading as ideology to justify kidnapping and extortion in the name of cryptocurrency wealth extraction.