Adam Iza, who described himself as a businessman and adopted the nickname “The Godfather,” has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for a fraud operation that cost Meta more than $37 million, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.
The 26-year-old was also convicted of tax evasion and of using off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies to intimidate people involved in disputes with him.
U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson ordered Iza to pay $23.4 million in restitution. He had pleaded guilty in January 2025 to conspiracy against rights, wire fraud and one count of tax evasion.
Iza’s new sentence will be served at the same time as a separate 15-year prison term imposed last month in Connecticut. That sentence stemmed from his participation in an attempted bitcoin robbery in August 2024.
How the Meta Scheme Worked
Prosecutors said Iza obtained access to Meta Business Manager accounts and the credit facilities linked to those accounts. He then sold the access to advertising companies.
Meta charged customers for advertising campaigns they had not actually purchased and later refunded the affected clients, according to prosecutors.
The investigation also revealed the use of cryptocurrency in the broader operation. Iza admitted transferring corporate proceeds connected to the fraud to crypto custodians while concealing his ownership of a company called Zort, the Justice Department said.
Prosecutors calculated that Iza earned at least $36.4 million through the scheme. The activity allegedly resulted in an estimated $13.3 million loss to the Internal Revenue Service.
Deputies Used Against Rivals
The fraud case was not Iza’s only criminal conduct. From 2021 through 2022, prosecutors said he paid off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies to access confidential law-enforcement records, personal information and search warrants.
Those resources were allegedly used to monitor and harass people with whom Iza had personal disputes. The five former Los Angeles deputies involved have since been convicted.
At sentencing, prosecutors emphasized that money cannot legitimately be used to obtain restricted government resources for private conflicts. They said individuals with significant financial means cannot purchase access to confidential databases, investigative tools, warrants, arrests, badges or firearms.
Iza’s case follows several other major cryptocurrency-related prosecutions.
Ronald Spektor, a Brooklyn man, was sentenced to 12 years in prison last month after impersonating Coinbase customer-service representatives and convincing about 100 people that their accounts had been hacked.
In another case, Las Vegas businessman Brent Kovar was convicted in August for operating a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors said the scheme affected at least 400 investors and caused $24 million in losses.
