The owner of a crypto company was charged in a case involving cryptocurrency fraud, bribery and corrupt law enforcement officials, federal prosecutors said.
Adam Iza, who ran the crypto trading platform Zort, accumulated wealth funneled through shell companies, spent on luxuries and concealed the receipt of tens of millions of dollars without reporting income taxes, according to a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) affidavit filed in an LA federal court on Sept. 23 and made available on Sept. 26.
Iza also allegedly paid three Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputies to unlawfully file search warrants and access police data, according to the affidavit.
Iza — also known as Ahmed Faiq and “The Godfather” — allegedly bragged about paying as much as $280,000 a month to the deputies and is accused of using police information to try to coerce one alleged victim, identified only as “E.Z.,” into handing over a laptop used to store crypto.
Iza allegedly bragging about paying police officers $280,000 a month. Source: CourtListener
In comments to Cointelegraph, Iza’s lawyer, Josef Sadat, said his client is “facing charges that are the opposite of his true inner character.”
He added Iza “unfortunately did not develop many healthy relationships” as he spent “the majority of his life behind a computer” and the money he earned from Zort attracted “the worst type of blood-sucking characters that Southern California has to offer.”
“Campaign” to get crypto
The complaint alleges that E.Z. was subjected to a “campaign of intimidation and harassment” from Iza.
E.Z. claimed he received intimidating messages displaying his information in a police database, with one photo revealing “the top portion of a LASD business card” along with a message and pictures of E.Z.’s family and car.
A private investigator that Iza hired, identified only as K.C., claimed Iza also sent him “photos of sensitive law enforcement data” and a picture of a “GPS search warrant on a phone number believed to belong to Victim E.Z.,” according to the affidavit.
A message obtained by the FBI allegedly shows Iza calling law enforcement officers “pawns.” Source: CourtListener
The FBI said it later found a search warrant made by an LASD deputy who was accused of receiving payments from Iza. The warrant added E.Z.’s number, even though it was a “case that had no relationship” to that person.
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Iza, through his cryptocurrency company Zort and other businesses owned by his then-girlfriend, made payments to three LASD deputies, with amounts occasionally reaching almost $200,000, according to the affidavit.
Highlighted excerpt from the complaint detailing Iza’s alleged payments to a law enforcement officer only identified as “LASD Deputy 1.” Source: CourtListener
Iza was charged with conspiracy against rights and tax-assessment evasions, with the complaint alleging he “concealed his receipt of tens of millions of dollars and did not report any income taxes” between 2020 and 2022.
The LASD told Cointelegraph that “these egregious allegations contradict our Department’s values and mission. The Department is thankful for the federal investigation for bringing these criminal actions to light.”
“Individuals who use their badge as a license to abuse their power to personally profit on illegal misconduct have no place in law enforcement and must be held accountable,” it added.
The LASD said it’s “fully cooperating and assisting with this investigation.”
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Update (Sept. 29, 10:30 pm UTC): This article has been updated to add a response from the LA Sheriff’s Department.
Update (Sept. 30, 5:50 am UTC): This article has been updated to add a response from Adam Iza’s lawyer.