Adam Iza sentenced to 78 months for Meta fraud and deputy scheme

What happened

Adam Iza, 26, who styled himself "The Godfather," was sentenced to a further 78 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson also ordered him to pay $23,402,766 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said. Iza is already serving 15 years over an attempted Bitcoin robbery.

He pleaded guilty in January 2025 to conspiracy against rights, wire fraud and tax evasion, and has been in custody since September 2024. The new term runs concurrent to the Connecticut sentence imposed over the robbery attempt, so it will not add to the time he serves.

Between August 2021 and April 2022, Iza paid off-duty deputies to work as his personal security. He admitted in his plea agreement to conspiring with them to pull confidential police records and personal data on people he had disputes with, and to get court-approved search warrants to track them down. Prosecutors said five former deputies have been convicted over work they did for him. Eric Chase Saavedra got 21 months, Michael David Coberg is serving 63 months, Scott Allen Simpkins got 18 months, and David Anthony Rodriguez got a year. Prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum that money cannot buy warrants, arrests, badges or firearms for private disputes.

The fraud was separate. From December 2020, Iza obtained access to Meta business manager accounts and their attached lines of credit, and then sold that access on to advertising companies. Clients of Meta were billed for ads they never bought, and Meta refunded them and took the loss. About $37 million moved into the accounts of his companies between 2020 and 2022. Iza admitted to at least $36,360,844 of gross income through 2023, and to an IRS loss of $13,286,152.

Why it matters

The case mixes a crypto persona with civil-rights violations and the corruption of people who held law enforcement authority, which makes the sentencing more serious than the familiar pattern of a crypto promoter exaggerating returns or misusing investor money. Iza had cultivated the image of a wealthy digital-asset figure and used it as part of his public persona.

The $37 million figure refers to the amount prosecutors said was stolen from Meta, and the restitution order is lower, so the two numbers should not be conflated. Meta had no role in the scheme beyond being a victim whose systems and credit facilities were exploited. The case is a reminder that crypto wealth does not create a separate legal category.

What the data shows

Judge Percy Anderson ordered $23,402,766 in restitution. Prosecutors cited at least $36,360,844 in gross income through 2023 and an IRS loss of $13,286,152. About $37 million moved into the accounts of his companies between 2020 and 2022.

Background

To hide the money, Iza concealed his ownership of Zort, his crypto trading platform, had a co-schemer buy personal items with the funds, and moved corporate income to cryptocurrency custodians. He filed no corporate returns at all.

Iris Rabaya Au, Iza's former girlfriend, was sentenced to 18 months on September 21 for failing to report more than $2.6 million she received through his activities. She must pay $1,484,343 in restitution and forfeit luxury and high-performance cars, designer handbags and three "Godfather" sculptures.

What is still unclear

• The reports do not say exactly when Iza will be released or how the two sentences combine in practice.
• The reports do not say whether Zort still operates or holds customer funds.

Questions readers ask