In brief
- Michael David Coberg pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy against rights for working with crypto ‘Godfather’ Adam Iza.
- The scheme involved armed extortion, a staged drug arrest with planted narcotics, and systematic abuse of police authority.
- Coberg weaponized his position to interrogate victims, facilitate false arrests, and intimidate rivals, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy who moonlighted as muscle for a self-proclaimed “Crypto Godfather” has admitted guilt in federal court, which an expert described as “a next level of crypto malfeasance.”
Michael David Coberg of Eastvale pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy against rights, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Coberg worked as a business partner and advisor to Adam Iza, a fraudulent crypto entrepreneur who ran the now-defunct trading platform Zort and has been in federal custody since September 2024.
Working for Iza, the former sheriff interrogated victims as an active officer, orchestrated false arrests, and helped extort hundreds of thousands of dollars while collecting at least $20,000 monthly, according to his plea agreement.
The two even planned to start an anabolic steroid business.
“Police officers should not be able to exercise the badge in off-duty capacity, as it opens up opportunities for corruption and intimidation of citizens,” Kadan Stadelmann, Chief Technology Officer at Komodo Platform, told Decrypt.
Coberg is scheduled to be sentenced on February 17, 2026, and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison on the extortion count and up to 10 years on the conspiracy against rights count.
Prosecutors say Coberg conspired with Iza to intimidate victims in 2021, including forcing one businessman to transfer $127,000 at gunpoint and orchestrating the false drug arrest of another in Paramount.
“Coberg used state power to further fraudulent schemes, which is particularly worrying in this case,” Stadelmann said. “The state has a monopoly on force, and Coberg assumed that power extended beyond his duties as a Sheriff.”
Stadelmann noted how the blurred public-private boundaries highlight “the weak oversight of off-duty work, in which corruption has no check.”
“This fraud unlocked a next level of crypto malfeasance and is far beyond the typical crypto fraud or ICO schemes, since it involves law enforcement using intimidation tactics,” he said.
Apart from Coberg, deputies Christopher Michael Cadman and David Anthony Rodriguez have also pleaded guilty to their roles in working with Iza. Cadman is scheduled to be sentenced in January 2026, and Rodriguez is expected to be sentenced on November 10.
Eric Chase Saavedra, another former deputy linked to Iza’s LAPD pay-offs, admitted guilt in February and is still awaiting sentencing.
Over the course of Iza’s schemes, he acquired $16 million in crypto through fraudulent means and spent approximately $10 million on luxury items with his ex-girlfriend, Iris Ramaya Au, who pleaded guilty in March to failing to report $2.6 million in illicit proceeds.
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