Crypto Firm Owner Accused of Bribing Police for Sensitive Information to Extort Victim
Ruholamin Haqshanas is a contributing crypto writer for CryptoNews. He is a crypto and finance journalist with over four years of experience. Ruholamin has been featured in several high-profile crypto...
Federal prosecutors have accused Adam Iza, owner of the cryptocurrency trading platform Zort, Inc., of bribing Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputies for access to sensitive information in an attempt to extort a victim for their crypto holdings.
According to an FBI affidavit filed in a Los Angeles federal court on September 23 and made public on September 26, Iza allegedly paid three LASD deputies to unlawfully obtain confidential police data.
Iza, also known by his aliases Ahmed Faiq and “The Godfather,” allegedly boasted about paying $280,000 a month to the deputies.
He is accused of using this illicitly obtained information to intimidate and coerce a person identified only as E.Z. into surrendering a laptop containing valuable cryptocurrency assets.
The accusations against Iza date back to November 2021, when a report by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department detailed a disturbing encounter between Iza and E.Z.
The two had known each other for two years and were previously involved in a crypto business together.
According to the report, while driving together, Iza requested to stop for food. As they were standing by the car afterward, an SUV pulled up, and two men exited.
One of the men, armed with a handgun, instructed E.Z. to “get in the car.”
E.Z. managed to escape and called the police, fearing that Iza was attempting to kidnap him to obtain access to his crypto assets.
When questioned by a responding officer, Iza claimed that E.Z. had agreed to give him $300,000 for some cryptocurrency.
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