Eric Chase Saavedra, a former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who ran a private security firm bankrolled by jailed cryptocurrency figure Adam Iza, has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. He is the last of five ex-deputies to be punished in connection with the scheme, in which prosecutors said he abused his badge to intimidate Iza's enemies and concealed more than $373,000 in income from the IRS. With his term now set, every deputy charged in the payroll arrangement has drawn prison time, and the case now turns to Iza's own sentencing in California.

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 worked as a federal task-force officer with the U.S. Marshals Service. Alongside that role, 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. The arrangement ran first from August 2021 through March 2022, then resumed in July 2024 and continued until Iza's arrest that September.

Saavedra's plea agreement reportedly revealed that he recruited 20 to 25 deputies for the detail, paying each about $750 per shift.

Database abuse and a fabricated warrant

Prosecutors said Saavedra used his LASD credentials to pull personal data out of sensitive law enforcement databases, targeting people Iza had feuds with, along with their relatives and associates. In their telling, official tools — a sworn officer's database access and a warrant application made directly to a judge — were put to work in a private client's personal disputes.

In one episode, Iza believed a victim was 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 that 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.

Guilty plea, forfeitures 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 tax authorities.

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" with the government was the reason he received a lighter term.

How the other deputies were punished

Saavedra is the last of five deputies to be sentenced in connection with the scheme. The others drew terms ranging from one 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. Saavedra's own 21-month term matches Cadman's and falls in the middle of that range.

Iza himself, 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 — the next major development to watch in a case that has already put five law enforcement officers behind bars.

Source: CryptoNewsNet