FBI Accuses Zort CEO of Paying LA Cops to Target Crypto Victim for Extortion

Adam Iza, founder of the crypto trading platform Zort, is accused of bribing Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies for sensitive information.

According to federal prosecutors, Iza used this information to blackmail a target and steal their cryptocurrency.

The FBI alleged that Iza paid three deputies from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) to file illegal search warrants and access confidential police data. This allowed him to track people's whereabouts.

Additionally, the FBI filed an affidavit in a federal court in Los Angeles on September 23 and made it public on December 26. These details come from that affidavit.

Crypto CEO Allegedly Bribed Deputies and Attempted to Kidnap Ex-Business Partner for Crypto Assets

Authorities accuse Adam Iza, also known as Ahmed Faiq and nicknamed The Godfather," of boasting about paying $280,000 a month to the deputies.

According to the allegations, Iza used the police information he obtained to pressure a victim, known as E.Z., into giving him a laptop. They believed that this laptop stored valuable cryptocurrency.

In a November 2021 report from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, reviewed by the FBI, E.Z. shared details of a troubling encounter with Adam Iza.

E.Z said he had known Iza for two years and used to work with him in a crypto business. On the day of the incident, E.Z. was driving Iza when he asked to stop for food. After they exited the car, an SUV pulled up beside them, and two men stepped out.

According to the report, the driver of the SUV approached E.Z. with a gun in his hand and ordered them to get in the car."

E.Z. ran away and called the police, thinking that Iza was trying to kidnap him to steal his cryptocurrency.

When the police arrived, Iza told an officer that E.Z. had promised him $300,000 for some crypto. Iza said E.Z. got nervous, thinking he was being kidnapped, so he texted his bodyguards for help.

However, the two men in the SUV were both former deputies of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD).One of them, who now owns a security company, said he worked for Iza and responded to his call for help.

The former deputy admitted he had a gun but said he held it by his side because he was told E.Z might be armed. He also admitted he asked E.Z. to get in the car.

According to the complaint, E.Z. only had an electric screwdriver with him.

The complaint states that after this, E.Z. faced a campaign of intimidation and harassment" from Iza.E.Z. claimed that Iza sent threatening messages showing personal details pulled from a police database.

One message even included a photo of part of a LASD business card and Pictures of E.Z's family and car.

Iza Faces Charges for Conspiracy and Tax Evasion

Iza had also hired a private investigator named K.C. According to the complaint, K.C. said that Iza sent him photos of sensitive police data. One of the images was a GPS search warrant linked to E.Z's phone number.

The FBI found a search warrant by a LASD deputy who allegedly received payments from Iza. This warrant included E.Z's phone number, even though this case had nothing to do with them.

Furthermore, the complaint claims that Iza Paid three LASD deputies through his crypto company, Zort, and other businesses tied to his former girlfriend. It also claims that he sometimes pays them up to $200,000.

Another witness told the FBI that Iza and E.Z. once broke into their home, and Iza was pretending to be an FBI agent.Also, authorities accused Iza of stealing a laptop containing crypto and of holding the person at gunpoint to get the password.

Iza now faces charges of conspiracy and tax evasion. The complaint says he hid tens of millions of dollars and didn't report income taxes between 2020 and 2022.

Neither Iza's lawyer nor the LASD has responded to any requests for comment.

The post FBI Accuses Zort CEO of Paying LA Cops to Target Crypto Victim for Extortion appeared first on The Tech Report.