Former LASD Deputy Eric Saavedra Sentenced to 21 Months in Adam Iza Case

Former Deputy Eric Saavedra: The Corrupt Officer Behind Crypto Figure Adam Iza

Eric Chase Saavedra, 42, a former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy, received a 21-month federal prison sentence Monday after pleading guilty to conspiracy against rights and filing a false tax return.

U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson also ordered him to pay $90,984 in restitution to the IRS for income he hid while providing private security for Adam Iza, the self-proclaimed Crypto Godfather who is currently serving a separate 15-year sentence for a Connecticut bitcoin robbery and kidnapping.

Saavedra’s Security Firm Fueled Adam Iza’s Intimidation Operation

Saavedra established Saavedra & Associates to offer private security and was retained by Iza for around-the-clock protection at $100,000 per month from August 2021 to March 2022 and again from July 2024 until Iza’s arrest in September. He employed at least two guards and sometimes worked shifts himself.

According to his plea agreement, Saavedra abused his departmental credentials to access personal data on individuals connected to Iza. He fabricated a search warrant to coerce a target into paying for security and deceived a narcotics detective, resulting in a drug raid on an extortion victim.

He also falsely asserted the need for a warrant to track a man’s cellphone, which led to armed individuals attempting to break into that residence. This underscores the risks of leveraging law enforcement authority for private profit, a concern seen in other crypto-related crime cases.

At sentencing, Saavedra admitted he betrayed the public trust, and the Sheriff’s Department called his actions a serious violation of its values. Prosecutors said his conduct erodes confidence in lawful authority. Saavedra left the LASD on March 13, 2025.

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The Iza Cases Proceed on Separate Tracks

Saavedra is the fifth former deputy sentenced in the wider case surrounding Iza, following Michael Coberg, Scott Simpkins, David Rodriguez, and Christopher Cadman.

This pattern of LASD corruption—sworn officers moonlighting as enforcers for a single private client—sets this case apart from typical financial fraud; it’s a chain of badge-wielding officers converting their access into a commercial service for one man’s disputes.

Iza faces a separate legal proceeding. He is currently serving a 15-year federal sentence for an attempted bitcoin robbery and kidnapping in Connecticut in August 2024, and he is also awaiting sentencing in the Central District of California on charges of conspiracy against rights, wire fraud, and tax evasion.

The two cases are distinct proceedings in different jurisdictions, though both stem from the same self-styled “Godfather” persona. Law enforcement has pursued similar intersections of financial fraud and organized intimidation elsewhere, including networks linked to alleged crypto money laundering that prosecutors have tied to Marset.

For retail traders following crypto crime, the key takeaway isn’t price movements; it’s the reminder that Bitcoin-related cases increasingly involve traditional coercion—badges, warrants, hired muscle—layered atop digital assets, not just exchange hacks or smart-contract exploits. Saavedra’s sentence closes the LASD chapter of the Iza saga; Iza’s own California sentencing remains the unresolved question.

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