Crypto ‘Godfather’ Adam Iza Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison

Adam Iza, 26, the convicted fraudster who called himself “The Godfather,” was sentenced on October 5 to 78 months in federal prison for hiring Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies to harass his rivals, defrauding Meta Platforms of more than $37 million, and tax evasion, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said . United States District Judge Percy Anderson also ordered Iza to pay $23.4 million in restitution. Iza pleaded guilty in January 2025 to one count of conspiracy against rights, one count of wire fraud, and one count of tax evasion.

Hiring Deputies to Target Rivals

From August 2021 to April 2022, Iza paid off-duty LASD deputies for personal security and conspired with them to obtain confidential law enforcement information and court-authorized search warrants to intimidate people he had financial disputes with. Prosecutors said the deputies supplied confidential databases, investigative tools, search warrants, arrests, badges, and firearms that Iza wielded in private disputes. Five former deputies employed by Iza have now been convicted of federal crimes, including Eric Chase Saavedra, who received 21 months for helping obtain those warrants.

The Meta Fraud and Tax Evasion

Separately, from December 2020 to September 2024, Iza gained fraudulent access to Meta business manager accounts and their lines of credit, selling that access to advertising companies. He received about $37 million from the scheme, failed to file corporate tax returns, and caused a tax loss to the IRS of roughly $13.3 million. Iza admitted receiving at least $36.36 million in gross income between 2020 and 2023 and concealed his ownership of his company, Zort, transferring corporate income to cryptocurrency custodians. He has been in federal custody since September 2024.

The sentence runs concurrent to a 15-year term Iza received last month in Connecticut for an attempted Bitcoin robbery, adding to federal agencies’ widening crypto enforcement and a series of crypto-related enforcement actions across the United States this year. Prosecutors said the case showed that people with substantial financial resources cannot purchase access to confidential databases, warrants, arrests, badges, or firearms for private disputes. The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation led the case, with assistance from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.