A now-jailed crypto mogul who is awaiting sentencing in Los Angeles on conspiracy and other charges is facing a separate federal indictment for his alleged involvement in a kidnapping in Connecticut last year, officials announced Friday.
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Adam Iza, 25, a Beverly Hills and Newport Beach businessman, pleaded guilty in January in Los Angeles federal court to charges of conspiracy against rights, wire fraud and tax evasion.
In the Connecticut case, Iza is charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery.
Federal prosecutors contend Iza and others planned and coordinated a violent carjacking of a Lamborghini and the kidnapping of its two occupants in August 2024 in Danbury, Connecticut.
The investigation revealed that the kidnapping victims are the parents of an individual who is suspected of participating in the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.
Iza allegedly communicated via phone and encrypted messaging applications with certain of the kidnappers and directed them as to the logistics of the scheme, court papers show. He is also suspected of having provided funding for the alleged kidnapping.
Six others have pleaded guilty to offenses related to the carjacking and kidnapping, officials said.
In the Los Angeles case, Iza admitted hiring off-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies to act as enforcers against his perceived enemies.
As part of the conspiracy, Iza would have the deputies assist him in carrying out extortion, intimidation, setting people up for arrest, and abuse of legal process, his plea agreement states.
One of the deputies Iza employed was assigned to LASD's Operation Safe Streets Bureau and served as a federal task force officer assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service's Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, court papers show.
Prosecutors say that from August 2021 to March 2022, Iza -- who then lived in a Bel Air mansion -- hired the now former deputy's security company to provide round-the-clock security at a typical cost of $100,000 per month. The ex-deputy has admitted to improperly obtaining court-authorized search warrants related to people with whom Iza had disputes in order to locate, intimidate, harass and extort them, court papers show.
After pleading guilty on Dec. 15 in downtown Los Angeles, Iza will face up to 35 years in federal prison, prosecutors noted.
His next court date in the Connecticut case was not immediately available.
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