Adam Iza, 26, a self-styled businessman who called himself “The Godfather," was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for defrauding Meta of more than $37 million, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.

Iza was also found guilty of evading taxes and using off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies to intimidate people he viewed as rivals, the statement added.

U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson also ordered Iza to pay $23.4 million in restitution.

Iza pleaded guilty in January 2025 to conspiracy against rights, wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. The sentence runs concurrently with the 15-year prison term he received last month in Connecticut for his role in an attempted bitcoin robbery in August 2024.

Prosecutors said Iza gained access to Meta Business Manager accounts and associated credit lines, then sold that access to advertising companies. The Facebook parent company billed clients for ads they did not buy, then refunded them.

The case shows how crypto custodians can be used in broader fraud and tax-evasion schemes. Iza admitted moving corporate income tied to the fraud to crypto custodians while concealing his ownership of a company called Zort, according to the DOJ.

He received at least $36.4 million in income from the scheme, causing an estimated $13.3 million tax loss to the IRS, prosecutors said.

Between 2021 and 2022, Iza also hired off-duty deputies to obtain confidential law-enforcement information, personal data and search warrants to track and harass people with whom he had disputes. The five now former Los Angeles deputies involved in the scheme have since been convicted.

Source link