Former deputy sentenced to 18 months for lying to feds investigating crypto ‘Godfather’ Adam Iza

A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy will spend a year and a half in federal prison for lying to investigators about the criminal activities of Adam Iza, a figure federal prosecutors have dubbed the crypto “Godfather.” Scott Allen Simpkins, 34, was sentenced on July 13 to 18 months for obstruction of justice, marking the latest chapter in one of the stranger intersections of law enforcement corruption and crypto crime in recent memory.

Simpkins had pleaded guilty on March 17 to the obstruction charge, admitting that he gave false testimony to federal agents investigating Iza’s sprawling operation. The investigation touches on fraud, extortion, kidnapping, civil rights violations, and the kind of story that sounds like it was pitched as a Netflix limited series.

The crypto Godfather and his off-duty muscle

Iza allegedly ran a fraud scheme involving approximately $37 million through Zort, his cryptocurrency trading platform. Federal prosecutors say he employed off-duty LASD deputies for criminal operations connected to his crypto business.

Simpkins admitted during his plea that he witnessed some of Iza’s more colorful intimidation tactics, including threats involving 9mm ammunition and a $25,000 extortion demand. When federal investigators came asking questions, Simpkins chose to lie about what he had seen.

Iza has been sitting in federal custody since September 2024. In June 2026, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to a violent kidnapping and robbery plot in Connecticut that was focused on stealing Bitcoin.

Simpkins isn’t even the deputy who got the worst of it. Michael David Coberg, another former LASD deputy tangled up in Iza’s web, received a 63-month sentence for his involvement.

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