Eric Chase Saavedra, a former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who ran a private security firm whose marquee client was jailed crypto figure Adam Iza, has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. He is the last of five ex-deputies to be sentenced in the case, which centered on the abuse of his badge to intimidate Iza's enemies and the concealment of more than $373,000 in income from the IRS. The prosecution stands out for how directly it tied public law-enforcement power — badges, databases, search warrants — to the private disputes of a crypto figure.

From anti-gang detective to private security boss

Saavedra, 42, of Chino, once carried a detective's shield in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's anti-gang unit and served as a federal task-force officer with the U.S. Marshals Service. Alongside those roles, he founded Saavedra & Associates LLC, a security outfit that staffed its shifts with active LASD deputies and other law enforcement officers.

Adam Iza became the firm's marquee client. According to court documents, the self-styled cryptocurrency businessman, who split his time between Beverly Hills and Newport Beach, paid roughly $100,000 a month for round-the-clock guards — first from August 2021 through March 2022, and again from July 2024 until his arrest that September. Saavedra's plea agreement reportedly revealed that he recruited 20 to 25 deputies for the detail, each paid about $750 a shift. A retainer of that size — paid to officers for work outside their official duties — is what gave the case its tax-fraud dimension alongside the conspiracy charge.

Databases used to target Iza's rivals

Prosecutors said Saavedra used his LASD credentials to pull personal data from sensitive law enforcement databases, targeting people Iza feuded with, along with their relatives and associates. Such systems are reserved for official investigations, and that gap between access and use is what prosecutors cast as the abuse at the heart of the case.

In one episode, Iza believed a victim holding a laptop loaded with more than $100 million in cryptocurrency. In January 2022, Saavedra applied for a search warrant and lied to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, claiming the victim's phone number was tied to a firearms suspect. Once the warrant produced a location, he passed the address to Iza. The following March, Iza sent three armed men to break into the home and take the laptop. The episode shows the scheme reaching into the judicial process itself — a sworn officer misleading a judge to help locate a target.

Guilty plea, forfeiture and restitution

Saavedra pleaded guilty in February 2025 to one count of conspiracy against rights. He also admitted to pocketing about $373,146 from Iza that was never reported to the IRS. As part of the deal, he forfeited 32 Louis Vuitton bags, 27 pairs of Gucci shoes, five Louis Vuitton wallets and a money-counting machine. The judge also ordered him to pay $90,984 in restitution to the IRS and stated that his “prompt and extensive cooperation” was the reason he received a lighter term.

Sentences for the other deputies

Saavedra is the fifth and final deputy to be sentenced in connection with the scheme. His co-defendants drew terms ranging from a year to more than five: Michael David Coberg is serving 63 months, Scott Allen Simpkins received 18 months, and Christopher Michael Cadman and David Anthony Rodriguez were sentenced to 21 and 12 months, respectively. With the deputies' cases now resolved, the remaining milestone in the federal case belongs to Iza himself.

Iza, 26, has been in federal custody since September 2024 and pleaded guilty in January 2025 to conspiracy against rights, wire fraud and tax evasion. He is already serving a 15-year sentence over an attempted Bitcoin robbery and a kidnapping near Danbury, Connecticut, in August 2024. His California sentencing before Judge Anderson is set for October 5.

Sources: IRS Criminal Investigation press release · CBS News Los Angeles · Cryptopolitan