'Wrench attacks' subject some cryptocurrency holders to violence, kidnapping

The Associated Press

· Posted: May 29, 2025 10:54 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Police successful 2 cases successful the United States, and 1 successful France, allege that brutal assaults were tied to cryptocurrency-related crimes that person spilled retired from down machine screens and into the existent satellite arsenic the mostly unregulated currency surges successful value. 

The alleged attempted robberies autumn into a class often described as a "wrench attack." It's a sanction popularized by an online comic that mocked however easy high-tech information tin beryllium undone by hitting idiosyncratic with a wrench until they springiness up passwords.

Wrench attacks are connected the emergence acknowledgment successful portion to cryptocurrency's determination into mainstream finance, Phil Ariss of the crypto tracing steadfast TRM Labs said successful a caller blog post.

Violence whitethorn beryllium expanding for respective reasons including that criminals judge they tin get distant with crypto theft due to the fact that transactions are hard to hint and often cloaked by anonymity, TRM says.

"As agelong arsenic there's a viable way to launder oregon liquidate stolen assets, it makes small quality to the offender whether the people is simply a high-value ticker oregon a crypto wallet," Ariss said. "Cryptocurrency is present firmly successful the mainstream, and arsenic a result, our accepted knowing of carnal menace and robbery needs to germinate accordingly."

In Canada, a Toronto cryptocurrency institution CEO was concisely held for ransom precocious past year, portion Montreal police are investigating past year's homicide of a 24-year-old cryptocurrency influencer. In some cases, police have been tight-lipped regarding the details oregon imaginable motives surrounding the crimes.

Here's a look astatine immoderate of the recent, high-profile international cases:

Manhattan townhouse captivity alleged

In the New York case, 2 American crypto investors — John Woeltz and William Duplessie — person been arrested connected kidnapping and battle charges successful caller days aft a 28-year-old Italian antheral told constabulary they tortured him to get his Bitcoin password. Attorneys for some men declined to comment.

Authorities said Duplessie and Woeltz lured the unfortunate connected May 6 to an eight-bedroom townhouse successful the Soho territory of Manhattan, 1 of the city's astir costly neighbourhoods.

Over the adjacent 17 days, the antheral told constabulary helium was bound by the wrists, shocked with electrical wires, pistol-whipped, chopped connected the limb with a saw and forced to fume from a ace pipe. At 1 point, helium said, helium was dangled from the home's apical formation of stairs.

Believing helium would soon beryllium killed, the unfortunate said helium agreed Friday greeting to springiness the men entree to the password.

But arsenic the men went to retrieve his computer, the unfortunate was capable to flight from the location and emblem down a postulation cause connected the thoroughfare outside.

A hunt of the townhouse turned up a trove of evidence, prosecutors said, including cocaine, a saw, chickenhearted wire, assemblage armour, nighttime imaginativeness goggles, ammunition and Polaroid photos of the unfortunate with a weapon pointed to his caput and a ace tube successful his mouth.

The unfortunate was hospitalized with injuries to his wrists accordant with being bound, cuts to his look and different injuries, authorities said.

Both Duplessie and Woeltz look to beryllium entrepreneurs focused connected cryptocurrency. In online profiles, Duplessie is listed arsenic the co-founder and caput of sourcing astatine Pangea Blockchain Fund and an capitalist successful different blockchain-based companies. An email seeking remark was sent to Pangea.

Woeltz has described himself successful interviews arsenic a blockchain capitalist who spent clip successful Silicon Valley earlier becoming progressive successful Kentucky's burgeoning crypto-mining industry.

Lamborghini hijacking successful Connecticut

While the allegations are inactive emerging, earlier this year 13 radical were indicted connected national charges successful Washington, D.C., accused of combining machine hacking and wealth laundering with old-fashioned impersonation and burglary to bargain much than $260 cardinal US from victims' cryptocurrency accounts.

Some are accused of hacking websites and servers to bargain cryptocurrency databases and place targets, but others are alleged to person breached into victims' homes to bargain their "hardware wallets" — devices that supply entree to their crypto accounts.

WATCH | Canadian constabulary conflict with challenges successful crypto cases:

The lawsuit stemmed from an probe that started aft a mates successful Danbury, Ct., past twelvemonth were forced retired of a Lamborghini SUV, assaulted and bound successful the backmost of a van. An off-duty FBI cause conscionable happened to beryllium successful the country astatine the clip and helped constabulary way the movements of the suspects' vehicle, according to a longform feature connected the lawsuit from New York Times Magazine.

Authorities allege the incidental was a ransom crippled targeting the couple's lad — who they accidental helped bargain much than $240 cardinal US worthy of Bitcoin from a azygous victim.

The lad has not been charged, but is being detained connected an unspecified "federal misdemeanour offence" charge, according to online jailhouse records. Police stopped the carjacking and arrested six men.

Spate of incidents successful France

Meanwhile successful France, kidnappings of affluent cryptocurrency holders and their relatives successful ransom plots person spooked the industry.

Attackers precocious kidnapped the begetter of a crypto entrepreneur portion helium was retired walking his dog, and sent videos to the lad including 1 showing the dad's digit being severed arsenic they demanded millions of euros successful ransom, prosecutors allege. Police freed the begetter and arrested respective suspects.

Earlier this year, men successful masks attempted to resistance the girl of Pierre Noizat, the CEO and a laminitis of the bitcoin speech level Paymium, into a van, but were thwarted by a shopkeeper equipped with a occurrence extinguisher. Noizat told a French tv web that his son-in-law needed stitches arsenic a effect of the attack, and helium implored authorities to bash much to forestall targeted attacks.

And successful January, the co-founder of French crypto-wallet steadfast Ledger, David Balland, and his woman were besides kidnapped for ransom from their location successful the Cher portion of cardinal France. They besides were rescued by constabulary and 10 radical were arrested.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau recently said information volition beryllium beefed up for crypto entrepreneurs and their families, with offers of information briefings by elite constabulary units, precedence entree to exigency services and constabulary checks of their location security.