Adam Iza, a 25-year-old California cryptocurrency figure who called himself "The Godfather," pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery for his role in orche
Adam Iza, a 25-year-old California cryptocurrency figure who called himself "The Godfather," pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery for his role in orchestrating the attempted kidnapping of a Connecticut couple whose son had stolen $245 million in Bitcoin weeks earlier.
Iza admitted in federal court to planning the abduction of Sushil and Radhika Chetal in Danbury, Connecticut, in August 2024. Federal prosecutors are seeking a prison term of at least 14 years when he is sentenced, according to the Associated Press.
The chain of events began a month before the kidnapping attempt. One of Iza's alleged co-conspirators, James Schwab, got into an altercation with the Chetals' son, Veer Chetal, at a Miami nightclub, according to an FBI affidavit. Schwab then told an acquaintance to rob Chetal and his friends at their Miami rental home.
A few weeks after the nightclub fight, Veer Chetal and two other men carried out an elaborate online scheme impersonating technical support staff for Google and a cryptocurrency exchange. They stole 4,100 Bitcoins, worth approximately $245 million at the time, from a Washington, D.C., resident.
The scale of the theft highlights ongoing risks in crypto custody security. While cases of high-volume digital asset transactions are increasingly common in legitimate markets, social engineering attacks targeting individual holders remain a persistent threat.
Iza and Schwab devised a plan to take Veer Chetal's parents hostage, hoping to force him to surrender a portion of the stolen Bitcoin, according to FBI informants. They recruited six men from Florida, paying for their travel and lodging in Connecticut.
On Aug. 25, 2024, the group surveilled the Chetal parents before staging a rear-end collision with their Lamborghini SUV near Danbury High School. A white van then pulled in front of the vehicle, and several men surrounded the couple.
The attackers pulled the Chetals from the SUV, beat Sushil Chetal with a baseball bat, and dragged Radhika Chetal by her hair before forcing both into the van and binding them with duct tape.
The plot unraveled quickly. Multiple witnesses, including a passing off-duty FBI agent, called police. Officers spotted the van, initiating a chase that ended when the vehicle crashed. Four men fled on foot but were arrested shortly after. Two others were found at a rental home in a nearby town. The Chetals were hospitalized and released.
The six Florida men who carried out the physical abduction have all pleaded guilty. Two have received 11-year prison sentences, while the others await sentencing.
Schwab and Iza's brother, Saif Faiq, were also charged in the kidnapping attempt and have pleaded not guilty. Schwab's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case underscores a growing pattern of real-world violence targeting crypto holders and their families, a trend that has accelerated alongside rising digital asset valuations.
Before his arrest in the kidnapping case, Iza was already under federal investigation in California for extortion. Operating from a mansion in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, he ran a crypto trading company called Zort while spending lavishly on luxury cars and even cosmetic surgery to lengthen his legs.
Beginning in August 2021, Iza paid roughly $100,000 per month to a private security firm founded by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy. He used off-duty deputies as personal enforcers, directing them to extort, intimidate, and set up his enemies for arrest.
The deputies accessed law enforcement databases to generate information on Iza's targets and obtained search warrants under false pretenses. In one incident, two deputies held a victim at gunpoint inside Iza's home, pressuring the victim to transfer $25,000 to Iza's bank account.
When Iza pleaded guilty in the California case in January, he also admitted to stealing more than $37 million by fraudulently accessing business manager accounts belonging to Meta Platforms and their lines of credit between 2020 and 2022. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud, conspiracy against rights, and tax evasion in that case and awaits sentencing.
Several deputies were also charged in the investigation. Iza's California attorney, Josef Sadat, declined to comment.
Iza now faces sentencing in two separate federal cases. In Connecticut, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, which carries a potential sentence of at least 14 years according to prosecutors. In California, he awaits sentencing on wire fraud, conspiracy against rights, and tax evasion charges tied to the Meta fraud and extortion scheme.
His attorney in the Connecticut case, William Paetzold, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The combination of the kidnapping conspiracy, the extortion operation involving corrupt law enforcement officers, and the large-scale theft from crypto and tech platforms makes this one of the more complex federal crypto-related prosecutions in recent years.
The case also raises questions about security practices for high-value cryptocurrency holders. With the original $245 million Bitcoin theft carried out through social engineering rather than a technical exploit, the subsequent kidnapping attempt demonstrated how crypto-related crime can rapidly escalate from digital fraud to physical violence.
Adam Iza, also known as Ahmed Faiq, is a 25-year-old California man who ran a crypto trading company called Zort from a Bel Air mansion. He called himself "The Godfather" and is now facing federal charges in both Connecticut and California for crimes ranging from kidnapping conspiracy to wire fraud and extortion.
Iza pleaded guilty on June 2, 2026, to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery in connection with the attempted kidnapping of Sushil and Radhika Chetal in Danbury, Connecticut. The plot aimed to force their son to hand over proceeds from a Bitcoin theft.
Veer Chetal and two accomplices impersonated technical support staff for Google and a cryptocurrency exchange, stealing 4,100 Bitcoins from a Washington, D.C., resident through social engineering.
Federal prosecutors are seeking at least 14 years in prison for the Connecticut kidnapping conspiracy. Iza also awaits sentencing in California on separate wire fraud, conspiracy against rights, and tax evasion charges.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
The post Suspected Mastermind in $245M Bitcoin Theft Admits Kidnapping Plot was initially published on Coincu.
