A cryptocurrency businessman who dubbed himself “The Godfather” and a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy have agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges for alleged involvement in a conspiracy that used intimidation, extortion and illegal search warrants against victims, officials said on Friday, Jan. 17. The defendants are Adam Iza, 24, who has homes in Beverly Hills and in Newport Coast, and Eric Chase Saavedra, 41, of Chino, a deputy and former federal task force officer. Iza, the founder of the Zort cryptocurrency trading platform, admitted in his plea agreement to having hired off-duty LASD deputies to act as his personal enforcers against perceived enemies. Iza would have the deputies assist in carrying out abuses of legal process, court papers say. One of the deputies Iza employed was Saavedra, who also served as a federal officer assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service’s fugitive task force, court papers show. Saavedra founded a private security company, Saavedra & Associates, which provided private security for its clients and often employed deputies and other law enforcement officers. Iza hired Saavedra’s company to provide round-the-clock security at a typical cost of $100,000 per month, prosecutors said. Starting in 2021, Saavedra illegally used his sheriff’s credentials to access sensitive law enforcement databases to obtain personal information for Iza, including on people with whom Iza had personal or business disputes, their associates and their family members, prosecutors allege. Iza, Saavedra and others used confidential information that deputies obtained to find, intimidate, harass, threaten and extort individuals with whom Iza had disputes and their associates, according to court documents. Federal prosecutors say that in one alleged incident, after securing an illegal warrant, Saavedra tracked down a victim and provided the person’s address to Iza. In March 2022, prosecutors contend, Iza caused three armed individuals to break into the victim’s home, but they fled after the victim fired a gunshot in their direction. Afterward, Iza sent the victim a video of the attempted home-invasion robbery, according to the Department of Justice. The documents filed this week describe other violent acts, including an August 2021 event when two deputies held a victim at gunpoint inside Iza’s residence. Aftterward, Iza caused $25,000 to be transferred from the victim’s bank account to his own, and an October 2021 event in which Iza himself held a victim at gunpoint, causing that victim to transfer $127,000 to Iza, according to federal prosecutors. Iza also admitted in his plea agreement to stealing more than $37 million by fraudulently gaining access to business-manager accounts and associated lines of credit of Meta Platforms, which owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp. Related Articles Courts | Man pleads guilty to setting fire to Yucaipa church Courts | Man who sold friend fatal dose of fentanyl in Norco gets 8 years Courts | Lyft rider jumped from car window, and driver denies responsibility because he was unconscious Courts | Tyler Skaggs’ wrongful death trial against Los Angeles Angels delayed until September Courts | Ex-Riverside official accused of lewd acts on children remains jailed “Mr. Iza’s and Mr. Saavedra’s relationship was little more than a thuggish partnership between a thief and a crooked cop,” Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, said in a statement. After pleading guilty, Iza will face up to 35 years in federal prison. Saavedra will face up to 13 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.