A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy was found guilty of using his authority as a law enforcer to intimidate, extort, and ultimately scam victims.

Committing numerous crimes for $100,000

Saavedra was first initially approached by a crypto mongul Adam Iza around August 2021, with an offer of $100,000 monthly to act as a round-the-clock bodyguard. Leveraging his credentials as a deputy and a task force officer with the US Marshals service, Saavedra illegally accessed sensitive law enforcement databases, fabricated search warrant affidavits, and misused his badge to aid Iza's vandattas.

On several occasions, Saavedra also obtained fraudulent search warrants to facilitate intimidation and theft. In one instance, Saavedra falsely used the excuse of a firearm investigation to track down a victims who they believe to possess a laptop which contained $100 million in cryptocurrencies.

After tracking the victim down, Iza hired three armed individuals to break into the property, but the plan failed after the victim fired a gunshot in their direction.

In August 2021, LASD deputies allegedly held a victim at gunpoint at Iza's residence, forcing a $25,000 bank transfer. In October 2021, Iza personally coerced another victim into transferring $127,000 while holding them at gunpoint.

"Mr. Iza's and Mr Saavedra's relationship was little more than a thuggish partnership between thief and a crooked cop," IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher said. "Unfortunately for both of them, money leaves trails and IRS Criminal Investigation is the best in the world at finding and following those trails."

In addition, for two years between 2020 and 2022, Iza admitted to stealing more than $37 million from web2 social media giant Meta by gaining access to business manager accounts and their associated lines of credit.

Both Iza and Saavedra also admitted to tax evasion. Iza evaded more than $6.7 million in federal income taxes in 2021, while Saavedra failed to report $373,146 in income the same year.

Facing justice

Iza faces up to 35 years in federal prison, while Saavedra, who have resigned from LASD, could receive up to 13 years. Both are expected to make initial court appearances in the coming days.

"The conduct admitted to in these plea agreements is deeply disturbing and cannot be tolerated." said US attorney Martin Estrada. "I am grateful for the cooperation of Sheriff Robert Luna and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in working with our office to root out corruption and uphold civil rights."