Crypto Scandal: Zort Owner Adam Iza Charged with Bribery
According to an FBI affidavit filed in a federal court in Los Angeles on September 23 and made public on September 26, Adam Iza, the owner of the cryptocurrency trading platform Zort, amassed wealth through shell companies, spent on luxuries, and concealed the receipt of tens of millions of dollars without filing income taxes. The complaint further claims that Iza paid three officers with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) to get police data and improperly file search warrants.
Iza, also known as Ahmed Faiq and The Godfather, is accused of using police intelligence to try to pressure one alleged victim, named E.Z., into turning up a laptop used to hold cryptocurrency. Iza allegedly boasted about paying the deputies as much as $280,000 a month.
Zort CEO Accused of Paying LASD Officers to Target Crypto Victim in Harassment Campaign
Iza allegedly engaged in a campaign of intimidation and harassment against E.Z., according to the complaint. E.Z. said he got menacing messages showing his details in a police database, including a photo that showed the top portion of a LASD business card and images of his family and vehicle. In the affidavit, it was stated that Iza also transmitted pictures of confidential law enforcement data and a GPS search order on a phone number thought to belong to victim E.Z. to a private investigator he hired, who went by the name K.C.
Subsequently, the FBI claimed to have discovered a search warrant issued by a LASD officer who was suspected of getting kickbacks from Iza. Despite the fact that this was a “case that had no relationship” to E.Z., the warrant included that number. According to the affidavit, Iza paid three LASD officers through his cryptocurrency company Zort, and other ventures controlled by his ex-girlfriend, with sums periodically reaching nearly $200,000.
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