Two men suspected in the kidnapping and torture of a 28-year-old Italian cryptocurrency investor have pleaded not guilty, while the investigation into their case appears to have expanded to the New York Police Department itself.

New York police had previously arrested William Duplessie, 33, and John Woeltz, 37, on the charges, as well as a third individual, Beatrice Folchi, 24, though her prosecution is being deferred. The victim has not been publicly named.

The men are accused of kidnapping the victim and holding him hostage in a luxury townhouse in Manhattan’s ritzy SoHo neighborhood for more than two weeks. During that time, New York City police say the trio tortured the man, forcing him to take drugs, dangling him from a ledge, urinating on him and electrocuting him in an effort to force him to hand over the private keys to his bitcoin. The alleged perpetrators are accused of making t-shirts of the victim with a crack pipe in his mouth and taking Polaroids of the victim with a gun to his head.

The victim escaped last Friday, grabbing his laptop and getting out of the townhouse and then seeking help from a traffic officer.

Duplessie entered a not-guilty plea to five different charges, including kidnapping with an intent to collect a ransom, kidnapping and causing a physical injury, criminal possession of a loaded firearm, assault with an intent to cause a physical injury with a weapon and unlawful imprisonment, according to the court docket.

Woeltz was charged with kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm, and he also pleaded not guilty, according to his court docket.

Two NYPD officers, including a detective assigned to Mayor Eric Adams’ protection detail, worked for both Duplessie and Woeltz in their off-duty hours and have now been placed on modified duty, Bloomberg reported Thursday. A source familiar told CoinDesk that the two officers are not believed to be part of the kidnapping, but rather did security work for the defendants. They may have driven the victim from an airport to the townhouse, but have not been tied to his torture, the source said.

A spokesperson for the NYPD said the matter was “under internal review.”

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said in a statement that, “Every city employee is expected to follow the law, including our officers, both on and off duty. We are disturbed by these allegations, and as soon as it came to our attention, the officers were placed on modified duty. The investigation is ongoing.”

UPDATE (May 29, 2025, 22:27 UTC): Adds additional detail.

Top House Democrats have launched an inquiry into President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures, citing concerns over potentially illegal fundraising, foreign influence, and abuse of political power.

In line with this, they have requested all suspicious activity reports (SARs) connected to Trump’s fundraising efforts.

The Allegations

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Democrats Gerald Connolly, Joseph Morelle, and Jamie Raskin, senior members from three House committees, said:

“We write regarding the potential misuse of certain politically oriented fundraising ventures for fraudulent, corrupt, or other illegal purposes.”

The inquiry targets the Republican fundraising platform WinRed, multiple political action committees, including Elon Musk’s America PAC, the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial (WLF), and meme coins linked to the president and first lady.

The lawmakers were specifically interested in World Liberty’s WLFI token sale. After failing to meet initial fundraising targets, WLF received a $75 million purchase from Justin Sun. The Tron founder has been under SEC scrutiny since 2023 but recently secured a pause in the case as discussions with regulators continued, raising suspicions of bribery.

The House Democrats also mentioned the TRUMP and MELANIA meme coins. According to them, entities affiliated with the president control 80% of the former’s supply and have earned over $100 million in trading fees.

Foreigners, some allegedly Chinese nationals, are also said to have made substantial profits selling the meme token early, while later investors lost more than $2 billion. These patterns have fueled accusations of possible insider trading and pump-and-dump activity.

The letter also addresses concerns about national security and foreign influence, given that coin buyers remain anonymous and most WLF tokens were sold to foreign investors. Connolly and company argued that this left room for non-natives to possibly gain influence over U.S. policy.

In March 2025, WLF announced plans to launch a stablecoin called USD1. Later, a fund backed by Abu Dhabi revealed it would use the stablecoin for a $2 billion investment in the Binance crypto exchange, which was previously convicted of violating U.S. anti-money-laundering laws.

The letter highlights that the timing and nature of this deal show the dangers of Trump’s conflicts of interest and the ethics of mixing business and presidential power.

Trump Faces Ongoing Scrutiny

The three legislators are demanding that all relevant SARs from January 1, 2023, to the present be made available to their committees by May 30. Their request comes amid increased pressure from Democrats seeking to regulate political involvement in crypto.

Last week, Rep. Ritchie Torres introduced a bill to ban sitting presidents and members of Congress from profiting off meme coins and stablecoins. In April, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff also called for an ethics probe after a Trump-hosted gala dinner promised exclusive invitations for top holders of his Solana-based meme coin.

Separately, Congress voted down the GENIUS Act, a bill that aims to regulate stablecoins, citing unresolved conflicts linked to Trump’s crypto dealings.

After more than two years under regulatory scrutiny, Yuga Labs announced that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially closed its investigation into the company without taking enforcement action.

While the agency has not disclosed the specific reasoning behind its decision, the move aligns with a broader shift in the SEC’s approach to cryptocurrency regulation.

NFTs Not Securities

The inquiry began in October 2022 and sought to determine whether Yuga Labs’ NFT offerings, including the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection and the distribution of ApeCoin, violated federal securities laws.

The SEC’s decision not to pursue charges more than two years later marks a significant milestone for the NFT space. In a statement on X, Yuga Labs called it a “huge win” for the industry and for creators driving the digital asset ecosystem forward.

“After 3+ years, the SEC has officially closed its investigation into Yuga Labs. This is a huge win for NFTs and all creators pushing our ecosystem forward. NFTs are not securities.”

In recent weeks, the regulatory watchdog has either dropped or suspended investigations into major crypto firms, including Coinbase, Binance, Robinhood, Gemini, OpenSea, and Uniswap. The SEC has also disbanded its previous crypto division and introduced a new Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, signaling a potential recalibration of its regulatory stance.

Bored Apes’ floor price on OpenSea briefly hit 13.9 ETH on Monday. After a minor dip, however, the current price has settled at 13.75 ETH.

NFT Market

The NFT market faced significant challenges in 2024 as trading volumes fell to $1.5 billion by the third quarter. However, a partial rebound in the fourth quarter pushed volumes back up to $2.6 billion.

This volatility was accompanied by a decline in total sales compared to 2023, indicating that NFTs were sold at higher prices, possibly influenced by rising token values such as ETH. By year-end, the overall trading volume had dropped by 19%, while sales numbers declined by 18%.

Despite the short-term plunging values, the global NFT market is expected to grow by $84.13 billion between 2025 and 2029, according to Technavio’s recent study. This growth is projected at an annual rate of 30.3%. The increasing demand for digital art and interest from major brands are key factors driving this expansion but uncertainty surrounding NFTs remains a challenge for the market.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has officially closed its investigation into Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club and CyberPunks NFT collections.

The regulator does not intend to take any further enforcement actions and did not issue any charges against the firm. In a social media post on March 3, Yuga Labs said the closure was a win for creators and NFTs.

It stated:

“After 3+ years, the SEC has officially closed its investigation into Yuga Labs. This is a huge win for NFTs and all creators pushing our ecosystem forward. NFTs are not securities.”

Yuga Labs probe

The SEC had launched its probe into Yuga Labs in October 2022  The agency had been examining whether certain NFTs could be classified as securities under federal law.

Specifically, the SEC was reportedly investigating whether Yuga Labs’ NFT collections, including Bored Ape Yacht Club and related assets, were marketed in a way that could be considered an investment contract under the Howey Test.

The agency also scrutinized the company’s sale of ApeCoin (APE), a crypto associated with the BAYC ecosystem, to determine whether it fell under securities regulations.

With the SEC’s decision to close the case without any charges, Yuga Labs and the NFT industry at large see the move as a significant regulatory victory.

The decision provides some clarity for NFT creators and marketplaces, though broader questions about the classification of digital assets remain unresolved.

Multiple cases closed

The decision to end the Yuga Labs inquiry comes amid a wave of SEC case closures in the crypto sector under new leadership appointed by the Trump administration.

In recent days, the agency has also dropped investigations into Robinhood, Gemini, Uniswap Labs, Consensys, and OpenSea. Meanwhile, the SEC has settled lawsuits with Coinbase and Kraken and is reportedly moving toward a resolution with TRON founder Justin Sun.

This regulatory shift follows years of scrutiny from the SEC, which ramped up its enforcement actions against digital asset companies under Chair Gary Gensler.

The agency had argued that many crypto assets, including certain NFTs, met the definition of securities under the Howey Test, a legal standard used to determine whether an asset falls under SEC jurisdiction.

However, industry leaders have pushed back against this classification, arguing that NFTs represent digital ownership rather than investment contracts.

Despite the SEC’s recent case dismissals, its longstanding lawsuit against Ripple remains in active litigation.

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