$50 million suit against crypto ‘godfather’ reads like a movie plot, featuring corrupt California cops

Event promoter Ryan Chapell wouldn t budge then the guns came out Chapell refused to refund half the that self-proclaimed crypto godfather Adam Iza had paid for his st birthday gala Things went downhill from there Iza allegedly turned loose his hired thugs gun-toting badge-wearing Los Angeles County sheriff s deputies who took Chapell s cellphone at gunpoint and stole thousands from his online bank account and then framed Chapell on drug charges and falsely obtained a search warrant to trash his West Los Angeles home ostensibly in search of fentanyl and cocaine They unveiled none Federal government cracked Iza s illegal operation of late securing guilty pleas or agreements to plead guilty from three of the former deputies Iza and his girlfriend Chapell now is suing the county and Iza in federal court for more than million in damages Money can buy the police It just shows money can buy the police disclosed Chapell s attorney Jerry Steering The suit filed Aug details Iza s illegal rise as a cryptocurrency mogul and for the first time lays out Iza s attacks from Chapell s point of view In a prepared declaration the Sheriff s Department responded This deplorable behavior is a direct violation of department standards betrays populace trust and tarnishes the reputation of all deputies and the entire department Those who misuse their badge to exploit their power for personal gain through illegal sessions have no place in law enforcement and must be held accountable According to the lawsuit Iza now aspired to be a quasi-Mafioso figure in the mold of Tony Montana from the movie Scarface Iza and his girlfriend Iris Au schemed to defraud Meta Platforms Inc and its Facebook advertising clients by selling access to hacked business manager accounts and associated lines of credit the lawsuit explained Iza and Au then opened a group of shell companies to launder the money under the names Zort Inc Dream Agency Inc Rise Agency Inc and Atlas Marketing Agency From through Iza and Au stole about million from Meta according to the lawsuit Lavish lifestyle Iza billed himself as a cryptocurrency millionaire spending his allegedly illegal gains on a lavish lifestyle buying luxury vehicles moving into homes in Bel-Air Beverly Hills and Newport Beach He even hired a surgeon to break his legs to make him taller the suit announced Iza also engaged a Chino-based measure firm operated by then Los Angeles County sheriff s Deputy Eric Chase Saavedra the suit declared At the time Saavedra was assigned to the sheriff s gang bureau and a federal fugitive task force with the U S Marshal s Office Iza allegedly paid Saavedra a month to strongarm enemies and rivals Saavedra gave at least eight other deputies a shift to be the godfather s enforcers according to the suit They communicated with each other by using the Telegram encrypted messaging application Besides muscle the deputies provided Iza with information from confidential police databases that allowed him to locate and harass his alleged casualties the suit disclosed Event planner targeted Iza trained his law enforcement support on Chapell a promoter hired to produce Iza s birthday party at his mansion in Bel-Air on Aug Two days after the bash Chapell was summoned by text message to the home by an unhappy Iza When Chapell arrived Iza was sitting behind his office desk loading bullets into a firearm magazine a black handgun nearby an AR- rifle propped against the desk Surrounding Chapell were at least eight armed ongoing deputies their badges on their belts according to the suit Iza declared he was dissatisfied with the party and demanded half the money back When Chapell refused Iza demanded his cellphone Chapell wouldn t give it to him When Chapell reached for his pocket the guns came out all bearing down on him the suit noted Chapell gave his cell and his password to Iza who used the phone to transfer from Chapell s bank account to one of the shell companies the suit reported But Iza allegedly didn t stop there He photographed Chapell s driver s license passport and credit cards Iza let Chapell go but kept the phone using it to steal tens of thousands of dollars from Chapell s financial accounts the suit announced According to the lawsuit Saavedra and the deputies then paid a woman who was romantically involved with Chapell to frame him for drug possession The deputies gave her money to buy illegal narcotics to plant in her carriage near the client seat She then picked up Chapell from the airport after persuading him to return early from a trip to Florida The deputies pulled over the truck in Paramount during a traffic stop and arrested Chapell As he was being led away in handcuffs a black SUV pulled up with Iza in the back seat smoking a cigar with the window down the suit revealed He talked with the deputies took a insufficient photos and then was driven away Chapell spent three days in the lockup at the Lakewood sheriff s station while the deputies allegedly falsified police reports on the arrest the suit reported Prosecutors however ultimately dropped the charges for lack of evidence Iza allegedly texted Chapell that he was a worthless loser and that he f ked with the wrong people the suit announced The harassment continued Iza s hired deputies alleging that Chapell was selling large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine fraudulently obtained a search warrant for Chapell s house near University High School on Los Angeles Westside They discovered nothing but trashed the place Steering disclosed I have never seen this level of police corruption authentically having the police on the payroll of a vicious and ongoing criminal enterprise like that created and run by Adam Iza reported Steering who has been suing police agencies for years Chapell feared that reporting the assaults to the Sheriff s Department would bring reprisals so he fled to New York and contacted the FBI which revealed the development was outside its jurisdiction according to the suit So he moved back to Los Angeles and reached out in to the Los Angeles Police Department which referred the incident to the FBI This time agents launched an research Others victimized Besides Chapell Iza allegedly had victimized others the lawsuit noted In November Iza attempted to kidnap actor and entrepreneur Enzo Zelocchi whom he inferred had large amounts of cryptocurrency in various electronic devices according to the lawsuit Zelocchi was driving his car with Iza in the back seat in Riverside County the suit announced Iza had Zelocchi pull over at a gas station convenience store to buy selected food When Zelocchi stopped a black SUV with the deputies pulled up One of them accosted Zelocchi at gunpoint and advised him to get in the car Zelocchi got away and called According to the lawsuit a Riverside County sheriff s deputy responded and talked to the Los Angeles County deputies who made it appear that they were the casualties The Riverside County deputy left without making any arrests Shocking to the conscience Iza later had his hired deputies obtain a computerized personal details assessment on Zelocchi the suit reported They sent text messages to Zelocchi with photos of his account as well as a Los Angeles County Sheriff s Department business card Zelocchi also received text photos of his family members and his car Under the assumption that one of Zelocchi s associates had his laptop Iza s deputies confronted the associate at a home in Orange County But the associate refused to open the door and spoke to them through a window The deputies identified themselves as law enforcement and declared a stolen computer was pinging inside the home Local police officers were called but they left without taking any action the lawsuit stated Iza frustrated when he could not locate Zelocchi had the deputies allegedly obtain a search warrant for GPS information from Zelocchi s cellphone the suit declared Deputies falsely informed the judge that Zelocchi s cell number was associated with a suspect in a firearms probe Pings from the cellphone GPS led the deputies to a Los Angeles apartment complex where they spotted Zelocchi standing outside They gave the location to a private investigator who put Zelocchi under surveillance for months according to the lawsuit The suit revealed the deputies also went back to Zelocchi s associate in Orange County and stole a laptop from him which was delivered to Iza They also tried a home invasion robbery where Zelocchi was staying but fled when he fired at them Los Angeles Police Department officers responded but made no arrests It s beyond weird mind-boggling shocking to the conscience Steering commented of the former deputies Saavedra and seven other deputies were relieved of duty or were out of amenity the Sheriff s Department mentioned Iza pleaded guilty to conspiracy wire fraud and tax evasion His sentencing is scheduled for Dec Saavedra pleaded guilty to conspiracy and one count of subscribing to a false tax return He is free on bond Former Deputy David Rodriguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy and ex-Deputy Christopher Michael Cadman agreed to plead guilty to two counts of conspiracy At least three other deputies have been relieved of duty The lawsuit is seeking a jury trial