Two Los Angeles deputies charged in civil rights cases, one tied to crypto ‘Godfather’

Two Los Angeles deputies have been charged in a civil rights conspiracy involving a jailed crypto entrepreneur known as “The Godfather” who used off-duty officers to target his rivals.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that LASD deputy David Anthony Rodriguez, 43, of La Verne, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy against rights. 

Another law enforcement officer, Christopher Michael Cadman, 33, of Fullerton, was separately charged with conspiracy against rights and filing a false tax return.

Federal prosecutors say the two deputies misused their law enforcement positions while working as private security contractors for off-duty clients, including 24-year-old Adam Iza, a self-proclaimed crypto entrepreneur known as “The Godfather,” who operated Zort, a trading firm accused of laundering illicit funds.

Prosecutors have tied Iza to multiple cases of wrongdoing, including laundering millions through fake tech ventures and stealing over $37 million by hacking Facebook advertising accounts. Iza and his former partner, Iris Ramaya Au, reportedly spent more than $10 million on luxury items and failed to report millions in income to the IRS.

Iza has been in federal custody since September 2024 and pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy against rights, wire fraud, and tax evasion.

Court records show that in August 2021, Cadman and another LASD deputy held a victim at gunpoint inside Iza’s Bel Air mansion. The victim was forced to transfer $25,000 to Iza’s bank account. 

The next month, Cadman helped stage a traffic stop in Paramount targeting the same individual without any legal grounds.

Cadman later admitted to receiving at least $40,500 in cash from Iza, which he failed to report on his 2021 tax return. Prosecutors estimate he owes approximately $11,000 in federal taxes. He faces a maximum sentence of 13 years in federal prison.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez, who had previously worked for Iza alongside Cadman, admitted to abusing his authority on behalf of a separate private security client unrelated to Iza.

Notably, in July 2022, Rodriguez faked a robbery investigation to obtain a court-authorized search warrant. He also obtained GPS data, which he later shared with his co-conspirators, including former deputy Eric Chase Saavedra, to locate and intimidate the victim.

Saavedra, 42, of Chino, pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy against rights and filing a false tax return. He allegedly worked for Iza through a private security company and has been accused of accessing confidential databases and obtaining fake warrants to target Iza’s adversaries.

Rodriguez is scheduled for sentencing on November 10 and faces up to 10 years in prison. Cadman is expected to make his initial court appearance soon. Saavedra, who is free on $50,000 bond, is awaiting sentencing in the coming months.