A former sheriff’s deputy in Los Angeles County who was involved in an extortion plot that at one point involved the sham arrest of a rival in a cryptocurrency scheme was sentenced to more than five years in prison this week, federal officials said.
The man, Michael David Coberg, 44, of Eastvale, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion and another conspiracy-related charge last September, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a news release.
Mr. Coberg, who was also a helicopter pilot with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, faces 63 months in federal prison, according to the sentence delivered on Monday by Judge Percy Anderson of the Central District of California. He was also ordered to pay $127,000 in restitution.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Mr. Coberg, while an employee of the sheriff’s department, worked a side gig providing security to Adam Iza, a man who the authorities said engaged in fraud marketing and cryptocurrency schemes and proclaimed himself a “Godfather.” Mr. Coberg’s contract allowed him to work as a business partner and adviser, as opposed to simply working security shifts.
Mr. Iza paid him at least $20,000 per month for his services, and the pair had planned to start a business selling anabolic steroids at one point, federal prosecutors said.
Federal prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum that Mr. Coberg violated his oath and abused his power “for an all-too-common reason: greed.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment further on the case on Tuesday.
Tom Yu, a lawyer for Mr. Coberg, said in a statement on Tuesday that his client “accepted responsibility for his actions and respects the Court’s sentence.”
The extortion plot for which Mr. Coberg was sentenced dated back to October 2021, when he accompanied security guards to bring a person, identified in court records as L.A., to Mr. Iza’s home. That person’s business partner was having a financial dispute with Mr. Iza, the Justice Department said.
According to court records and federal prosecutors, after escorting L.A. to Mr. Iza’s residence, where both a firearm and assault rifle were displayed, Mr. Coberg told L.A. that he was an active-duty law enforcement officer before interrogating that person about the financial dispute. Then, while Mr. Coberg watched, the victim was forced to transfer $127,000 to a bank account controlled by Mr. Iza — an action that was recorded on video. Mr. Iza then had his security guards take away the victim’s passport before driving that person back to their hotel.
Mr. Coberg again interrogated the same victim the next day, federal prosecutors said, this time taking L.A. and Mr. Iza to a shooting range in Mr. Iza’s home and leaving them alone. Mr. Iza held L.A. at gunpoint, demanding that a business partner transfer funds to Mr. Iza, which the partner later did, according to federal prosecutors and court records.
One month before that episode, in September 2021, Mr. Coberg, Mr. Iza and others also sought to lure a person identified in court records as R.C., from Miami to Los Angeles to have their target arrested under false pretenses while Mr. Iza “filmed the arrest for his personal pleasure and to mock the individual,” according to federal prosecutors.
The Justice Department said that Mr. Coberg and others crafted a plan in which an ex-girlfriend would call R.C. and feign interest in pursuing a relationship to coax that person to fly to Los Angeles and use drugs together. According to federal prosecutors, a plane ticket was purchased for the victim who was picked up from Los Angeles International Airport in a white Tesla, taken to obtain drugs and then driven to a location where a sheriff’s department deputy would make the arrest.
Another deputy identified as Christopher Michael Cadman, 34, of Fullerton, Calif., who had in August 2021 intimidated R.C. into giving Mr. Iza a $25,000 payment, helped set up the false arrest, the Justice Department said. Mr. Cadman pleaded guilty in August 2025 to federal criminal charges and is awaiting sentencing.
According to federal prosecutors, Mr. Coberg later reported the individual in the white Tesla, saying he knew from a confidential informant that someone with an outstanding warrant and illegal drugs was in the vehicle, leading to his arrest. The person was found in possession of cocaine and psilocybin mushrooms during the vehicle search.
At the time, Mr. Coberg slowly drove by in a black Cadillac Escalade S.U.V. that had its windows rolled down as Mr. Iza sat in the back seat, taking photos and videos of their target’s arrest, the prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Mr. Iza later used an image of the arrest to taunt the individual.
Aimee Ortiz covers breaking news and other topics.
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