Former Los Angeles Deputy Sentenced to Five Years for Helping Crypto ‘Godfather’ Extort Victims
Adam Iza, founder of cryptocurrency trading platform Zort, called himself the “Godfather.” Beginning in 2021, he hired off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies as security and used badges, law-enforcement data and force to settle business disputes. The case exposed the use of public authority for private extortion and highlighted the risk of violence in crypto-related crime.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California sentenced former deputy sheriff Michael David Coberg on March 16, 2026, to 63 months in prison and ordered him to pay $127,000 in restitution. He pleaded guilty in September 2025 to conspiracy to commit extortion and deprivation of rights. Iza, detained since September 2024, had pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges and was still awaiting sentencing at the time.
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The history behind this eventEx-LAPD Officer Gets Life Plus 15 Years for $350,000 Bitcoin Robbery
The case arose from a Dec. 28, 2024, home invasion in Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood targeting a 17-year-old cryptocurrency holder. Prosecutors said former Los Angeles Police Department officer Eric Halem and accomplices posed as police, restrained the teenager and his girlfriend with handcuffs, and threatened to kill him. The group took a hard drive holding about $350,000 in Bitcoin, along with other property, highlighting the physical-security risks facing owners of digital assets.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury convicted Halem, 38, of kidnapping and robbery on March 2, 2026, after deliberating for less than a day. A judge sentenced him on March 31 to life in prison plus 15 years. Halem served 13 years with the LAPD and left the department in 2022, though he remained a reserve officer when the robbery occurred. Proceedings against other defendants in the case remain pending.
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