The founder of a cryptocurrency trading platform has been accused of paying Los Angeles police officers to help him extort a victim for their digital assets.
A complaint filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation accuses Adam Iza of bribing three Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies to solicit police data and file dubious search warrants against a business associate, identified only as E.Z., in a bid to extort cryptocurrency.
Iza, who founded the crypto trading platform Zort Inc., allegedly paid the deputies up to $280,000 per month and used the information he acquired to threaten E.Z. after a failed kidnapping attempt in Riverside County in November 2021.
According to a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department report reviewed by the FBI, E.Z., who had known Iza for over two years, claimed that Iza arranged for two men, including a former sheriff’s deputy, to force him into an SUV at gunpoint. E.Z. managed to escape and contacted law enforcement.
Iza, however, told police that he had feared for his own safety and had called the men as bodyguards.
The FBI report added that Iza hired a private investigator to track E.Z. and sent him images of sensitive law enforcement data, including a “GPS search warrant” for a phone number that belonged to the victim.
After the failed abduction, E.Z. claimed to have received messages from unknown numbers containing pictures of his personal details pulled from police databases.
The messages also showed images of his family, heightening the intimidation efforts, according to the complaint. The harassment continued, and E.Z. claimed he was pressured by Iza to hand over a laptop that allegedly contained cryptocurrency.
Further, Iza has also been accused of extorting another victim by masquerading as an FBI officer and stealing a laptop containing crypto while holding the victim at gunpoint for the password.
Iza is also accused of evading taxes by hiding millions of dollars in income, some of which came from cryptocurrency transactions. Between 2020 and 2022, Iza and his associates allegedly amassed more than $30 million, funneled the money through shell companies, and used the funds to purchase luxury items such as cars and to cover the rent for a mansion in Bel Air.
Prosecutors have charged Iza with conspiracy against rights and tax evasion. He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 8.
Crypto demand fueling crime spree
Sadly, cases like this aren’t rare in the crypto world, with the sector seeing its share of extortion and kidnappings. As the value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin continues to rise, they’ve become prime targets for criminals.
As previously reported by crypto.news, in August, the Malaysian police were looking for four kidnappers who demanded and received a $1.2 million crypto ransom from the relatives of a victim.
In a separate case, authorities in Hong Kong arrested two Kidnappers who demanded $66,000 USDT in ransom payment.
Last year, a cryptocurrency portfolio manager for a Dubai-based company was abducted in Spain, and the culprits demanded 1 million euros as ransom in cash and cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, in July, a foreigner in the Solomianskyi district in Kyiv, Ukraine, was robbed and murdered for 3 Bitcoin.
