LA sheriff’s deputy made $20K a month on crypto mogul’s payroll. He will now serve five years in prison
A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who conspired to defraud and falsely imprison rivals was sentenced Monday to more than five years in prison.
Michael David Coberg, who was a deputy and the pilot of the Sheriff’s Department helicopter at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit civil rights abuse.
“These actions represent an abuse of government power,” said US District Judge Percy Anderson during Coberg’s arraignment Monday afternoon. “There are dire consequences if you choose to ignore the law you swore to uphold.”
Anderson sentenced Coberg to 63 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Coberg’s lawyer had asked for a two-year prison sentence.
“But with this crime, he lived an exemplary life,” Edward M. Robinson told the judge of his client.
Coberg is one of the several former deputies who admitted to participating in a thriving illegal business run by Adam Iza, a Southern California crypto expert who calls himself the “Godfather.” Coberg worked as a private security guard and partner in Iza’s business and earned at least $20,000 a month for his work, according to his plea.
“I take full responsibility,” Coberg said during the hearing. “It was due to greed.”
In September 2021, Coberg conspired with Iza and another conspirator to lure the victim — identified only by their first names RC — from Miami to LA and have them arrested with drugs, according to the plea.
The deputy – who prosecutors say had no knowledge of the illegal scheme – searched RC’s car after being tipped off by Coberg and found psilocybin mushrooms and cocaine and arrested the victim. Coberg admitted that when he was arrested he passed by the crime scene with the window rolled down so that Iza could watch.
Afterwards, Coberg texted another deputy thanking him for helping to stop the traffic and said “the kid enjoyed that.”
The following month, Coberg conspired with Iza to defraud at least $127,000 from the victim – identified only by their first names LA – with whom Iza had a financial dispute. Coberg acted as an investigator and told the victim that he was a law enforcement officer.
While Coberg stood by and watched, Iza recorded a video of the victim transferring all the money left in the bank to an account controlled by Iza, according to the plea agreement. Coberg admitted that he accompanied Iza and the victim the next day to the shooting range in the basement of Iza’s house and left the two alone.
According to the victim’s plea agreement, Iza then pointed a gun at the victim and asked the victim’s partner to transfer money to him, which the victim’s partner did.
Coberg resigned from the sheriff’s department in September 2025.
“The actions of this individual are reprehensible and in clear violation of our Department’s standards,” the department said in an emailed statement.
Iza, who has worked in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach, has been held in federal custody since September 2024. He pleaded guilty last year to charges of conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion. He was charged separately in Connecticut last year with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to obstruct commerce by robbery.
Iza built a small empire through “fraudulent marketing schemes and cryptocurrency,” according to the US attorney’s office in LA. Iza made millions online while threatening and extorting people, hacking Facebook accounts and engaging in other criminal activities.
