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Eric Chase Saavedra, 42, a former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy, was sentenced Monday to 21 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy against rights and making and subscribing to a false tax return.
US District Judge Percy Anderson also ordered him to pay $90,984 in restitution to the IRS for income he concealed while running private security for Adam Iza, the self-styled Crypto Godfather now serving a separate 15-year sentence for a Connecticut bitcoin robbery and kidnapping.
Who is Eric Saavedra? Security Firm Fed Adam Iza’s Intimidation Campaign
Saavedra founded Saavedra & Associates to provide private security and was hired by Iza for round-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 staffed at least two guards and occasionally worked shifts himself.
In his plea agreement, Saavedra admitted to misusing his departmental credentials to access personal information about individuals involved with Iza. He fabricated a search warrant to intimidate a target into paying for security and misled a narcotics detective, leading to a drug raid on an extortion victim.
He also falsely claimed to need a warrant to track a man’s cellphone, which resulted in armed individuals attempting to invade that home. This highlights the dangers of using law enforcement for private gain, a concern raised in other cases involving crypto crimes.
During sentencing, Saavedra acknowledged betraying public trust, and the Sheriff’s Department described his actions as a serious breach of its values. Prosecutors stated that his conduct undermines confidence in lawful authority. Saavedra separated from LASD on March 13, 2025.
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The Iza Cases Run on Separate Tracks
Saavedra is the fifth former deputy sentenced in the broader case centered on Iza, following Michael Coberg, Scott Simpkins, David Rodriguez, and Christopher Cadman.
That pattern of LASD corruption, sworn officers moonlighting as enforcers for a single private client, is what distinguishes this case from ordinary financial fraud; it’s a chain of officers with badge access converting that access into a commercial service for one man’s disputes.
Iza is a separate procedural matter. He is currently serving a 15-year federal sentence tied to an attempted robbery of bitcoin and a kidnapping in Connecticut in August 2024, and he is separately awaiting sentencing in the Central District of California on charges of conspiracy against rights, wire fraud, and tax evasion.
The two proceedings are distinct cases in different jurisdictions, even though both trace back to the same self-described “Godfather” persona. Enforcement agencies have pursued similar overlaps between financial fraud and organized intimidation elsewhere, including networks tied to alleged crypto money laundering that prosecutors have linked to Marset.
For retail traders watching the crypto-crime beat, the throughline isn’t price action; it’s the reminder that Bitcoin crime cases increasingly involve conventional coercion (badges, warrants, hired muscle) layered on top of 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 open question.
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