Crypto Godfather Adam Iza sentenced to over six years in prison

Adam Iza, known as the "Crypto Godfather," was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison on October 5, 2026. The court imposed this sentence for a series of crimes including wire fraud tied to $37 million siphoned through Meta’s advertising systems, tax evasion, and conspiracy against rights. Iza had hired former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies to intimidate his adversaries.

Iza entered a guilty plea in January 2025 and has been in federal custody since September 2024. The new sentence will run concurrently with a 15-year term he received in a separate Connecticut case, meaning the sentences overlap rather than add up. The federal case centered on a scheme from December 2020 to September 2024, where Iza hijacked Meta Platforms Inc. business-manager accounts and sold access to advertising firms, generating about $37 million in illegal proceeds.

Iza admitted to at least $36.36 million in gross income but failed to report much of it to the IRS, causing over $13.2 million in tax losses. He hid the money through crypto custodians and shell companies. Additionally, he employed five former LASD deputies to extort and intimidate people, spending around $100,000 per month on this operation. Several of these deputies have since been convicted and sentenced.

The heavier 15-year sentence from Connecticut stems from Iza’s plot to kidnap the parents of a Bitcoin thief. This case highlights the dark intersection of digital assets and criminal activity in Iza’s career, as he also used crypto custodians to conceal his Meta-related proceeds.