A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty Monday to two federal crimes in connection with his side work for a cryptocurrency magnate who referred to himself as “the Godfather.”
Michael David Coberg, 44, of Eastvale is the latest of several former deputies to admit participation in the sprawling illegal enterprise run by Adam Iza, who pleaded guilty this year to an array of crimes.
Coberg faces up to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy against rights, according to a statement by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
Coberg, who was a deputy and Sheriff’s Department helicopter pilot, helped Iza commit extortion in October 2021, according to the statement.
Coberg carried a gun and identified himself as active law enforcement while working for Iza, prosecutors said, and he “interrogated” a victim referred to in court records by the initials “L.A.”
“While Coberg stood watch over the victim, Iza demanded — and recorded a video of — the victim transferring $127,000 to a bank account Iza controlled,” the statement said. “Iza then directed his security guards to take away the victim’s passport.”
The next day, “Coberg took Iza and the victim to a shooting range in Iza’s residence and left the two individuals alone,” the statement said. “Iza then held the victim at gunpoint and demanded the victim’s business partner transfer money to him, which the victim’s business partner did later that day.”
An attorney for Coberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
“The former employee separated from the Sheriff’s Department on September 4, 2025,” the department said in an emailed statement. “The actions this individual engaged in are reprehensible and are a clear violation of our Department standards.”
In September 2021, Coberg worked on Iza’s behalf to set up someone to be arrested for drugs, the U.S. attorney’s office wrote.
In that incident, prosecutors said, Coberg and others had the victim’s ex-girlfriend act like she wanted to reconnect. The ex invited her former partner to visit L.A. so they could use drugs together, according to prosecutors.
After the victim arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, prosecutors said, a “co-conspirator” arrived in a Tesla and took them to buy drugs. The driver then went to Paramount, where Coberg and another former sheriff’s deputy arranged for a traffic stop.
A deputy — who prosecutors said was not privy to the illicit scheme — searched the car after being tipped off and found psilocybin mushrooms and cocaine, and arrested the victim.
“During the arrest, Coberg slowly drove past the scene in a black Cadillac Escalade SUV — with the window rolled down — as Iza watched from the back passenger seat,” the U.S. attorney’s office’s statement said.
Even before he faced charges, Coberg faced scrutiny for his actions as a deputy. In 2018, a KPCC investigation found that Coberg had been involved in four on-duty shootings, all of which were found to be within the law.
According to the report, Coberg alleged that because of the shootings, his bosses pulled him off an elite anti-gang unit and assigned him menial tasks such as cleaning vehicles and equipment — claims disputed by the Sheriff’s Department.
Iza, 25, previously of Beverly Hills and Newport Beach, has been in prison since last September and is due to be sentenced in December. He pleaded guilty in January to charges of conspiracy against rights, wire fraud and tax evasion.
Iza built a mini-empire off “fraudulent marketing and cryptocurrency schemes,” the U.S. attorney’s office’s Monday statement said. Iza made millions online while intimidating and extorting people, illegally hacking Facebook accounts and engaging in other criminal activity.
Coberg is due to be sentenced on Feb. 17.
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