A crypto founder in LA faces FBI accusations for bribing local police officers to extort cryptocurrency from victims.
Authorities allege that Adam Iza, founder of Zort, bribed Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputies to obtain intelligence on a robbery target.
Federal authorities have charged Iza with fraud, bribery, and conspiring with corrupt law enforcement officers, according to prosecutors.
An affidavit submitted by the FBI to a federal court in LA on September 23, and released on September 26, claims that Iza funneled his wealth through shell companies, spent it on luxuries, and concealed tens of millions of dollars without reporting income taxes.
The document further asserts that Iza paid off three LASD deputies to illegally file search warrants and access confidential police data.
Iza allegedly boasted about making monthly payments of up to $280,000 to deputies. Known as Ahmed Faiq and “The Godfather,” he reportedly used police information to coerce a victim, identified as “E.Z.,” into surrendering a laptop used for storing cryptocurrency.
The complaint states that Iza subjected E.Z. to a “campaign of intimidation and harassment.”
E.Z. claimed that the intimidating messages he received contained his data from a police database, with one photo displaying “the top portion of a LASD business card” along with pictures of his family and car.
A private investigator, referred to as K.C., who worked for Iza, claimed in the affidavit that Iza sent him “photos of sensitive law enforcement information” along with a picture of a “GPS search warrant for a phone number believed to be associated with Victim E.Z.”
The FBI later revealed that they found a search warrant issued by an LASD deputy suspected of taking payments from Iza.
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The warrant listed E.Z.’s number, despite the case having no connection to him.
As detailed in the affidavit, Iza made payments to three LASD deputies through his cryptocurrency firm Zort and other ventures owned by his then-girlfriend, with sums sometimes reaching almost $200,000.
Iza faces charges of conspiracy against rights and evasion of tax assessments; the complaint asserts that he “failed to report tens of millions of dollars and did not file income taxes” from 2020 to 2022.
Iza’s legal representative and the LASD did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
