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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, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69198689/1/united-states-v-iza/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69198689/1/united-states-v-iza/">according</a> 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 <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/bitcoin-wallets-a-beginners-guide-to-storing-btc" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">store crypto</a>.
<img alt="Crypto founder paid LA cops to help extort victims for crypto, FBI alleges" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/01923236-ce88-70d6-b2fc-0baa67551a9a">
Iza allegedly bragging about paying police officers $280,000 a month. Source: CourtListener
<h2 id="campaign-to-get-crypto">“Campaign” to get crypto</h2>
The complaint alleges that E.Z. was subjected to a “campaign of intimidation and harassment” from Iza.
E.Z. claimed he received intimidating <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/telegram-vulnerabilities-guide-to-staying-safe" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">messages</a> 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.
<figure>
 <img alt="Crypto founder paid LA cops to help extort victims for crypto, FBI alleges" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/01923238-3bd9-7142-841e-d93485650c1b">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 A message obtained by the FBI allegedly shows Iza calling law enforcement officers “pawns.” Source: CourtListener
 </figcaption>
</figure>
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.
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/scotland-first-ever-bitcoin-seized-toberlone-robbery-case" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Home invaders used machete, Toblerone to rob a man of his Bitcoin</a>
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.
<figure>
 <img alt="Crypto founder paid LA cops to help extort victims for crypto, FBI alleges" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/01923238-a38a-797f-b21e-8d9a95f365c2">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Highlighted excerpt from the complaint detailing Iza’s alleged payments to a law enforcement officer only identified as “LASD Deputy 1.” Source: CourtListener
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Iza was charged with conspiracy against rights and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/irs-crypto-reporting-form-us-taxpayers" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">tax-assessment</a> 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. Iza’s lawyer and the LASD did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Crypto-Sec: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/pythia-finance-drained-53k-crypto-sec/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">2 auditors miss $27M Penpie flaw, Pythia’s ‘claim rewards’ bug</a>

Crypto founder paid LA cops to help extort victims for crypto, FBI alleges

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