BEL AIR—On July 14, the U.S. Department of Justice, Central District of California issued a press release announcing the arrest of two Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputies and another man who is a cryptocurrency businessman.
According to the press release, both Sheriff’s deputies and the crypto currency expert, Adam Iza, aka “The Godfather,” stand accused of using their positions in law enforcement while working for private security off site.
On July 14, David Anthony Rodrigues, 43 of Laverne pleaded guilty of one count of conspiracy against rights.
Christopher Michael Cadman, 33 of Fullerton, is expected to plead guilty to two-counts of conspiracy against rights charge and providing a false tax return. Upon sentencing, Cadman is facing up to 13 years prison time.
Reports indicate that Cadman and Rodriguez were employed by the 24-year-old cryptocurrency expert, Adam Iza, who formerly lived in Newport Beach and Beverly Hills.
Iza has been in Federal custody since September 2024. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy against rights, one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. His sentencing date is scheduled for December 15.
The following information came directly from the DOJ press release:
“According to court documents, in August 2021, Cadman and a law enforcement officer identified as “LASD Deputy 6” intimidated and threatened a victim who was one of Iza’s adversaries. LASD Deputy 6 held the victim at gunpoint during a meeting at Iza’s office inside his Bel Air mansion. Immediately afterward, the victim transferred approximately $25,000 from his bank account to Iza’s bank account in response to the threat and demand.
In September 2021, Cadman and other law enforcement officers orchestrated a traffic stop in Paramount to arrest the same victim. Cadman admitted in his plea agreement to helping organize the traffic stop and arrest on Iza’s behalf and to receiving cash payments while he worked for Iza.
Cadman also received income he knowingly failed to report – at least $40,500 – on his 2021 federal tax return, which he signed and filed with the IRS in February 2022. Cadman admitted to owing approximately $11,000 in federal taxes for that year.”
In a separate plea agreement, Rodriguez admitted that in July 2022, he used his powers as an LASD deputy to “improperly obtain a court-authorized search warrant, lying to a judge relating to an alleged robbery investigation.”
This was done for Rodriguez to obtain a GPS location/information associated with a separate victim’s cell phone on behalf of an additional client who had also hired Rodriguez as a security guard.
Rodriguez obtained and shared the location coordinates with other co-conspirators of the victim including LASD Deputy, and former Federal Task Force Officer, Eric Chase Saavedra, 42, of Chino. Saavedra also ran a private security company.
According to the DOJ, LASD deputies and other co-conspirators would use information obtained from the court-authorized search warrant to harass, threaten, and intimidate the victim.
On February 6, Saavedra pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy against rights, and one count of filing a false tax return.
Rodriguez faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson scheduled a sentencing hearing for Rodriguez on November 10.
The FBI and the IRS are jointly investigating this matter with assistance of LASD. The Assistant U.S. Attorney Maxwell K. Coll of the Cyber Intellectual Property Crimes Section is the prosecutor in these cases.
By Sharon