Michael Coberg, a 44-year-old former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy and helicopter pilot, has pleaded guilty in federal court for helping Adam Iza, a convicted 25-year-old cryptocurrency businessman. Coberg pleaded guilty to charges of planning extortion and violating someone’s rights.
Apart from being a security guard for Iza, Coberg’s agreement with Iza also allowed him to work as a business partner and advisor. As per the press release by the US Attorney’s Office, with the partnership, Coberg earned at least $20,000 a month. They also planned to start a business selling anabolic steroids together. Further, Coberg used his deputy status to help Iza target business rivals.
Background of the crimes committed by the duo
In October 2021, Coberg and others forcibly took a person called “L.A.” to Iza’s home as L.A.’s business partner owed Iza money. There, Iza showed off a gun to the victim and asked him to transfer $127,000 to his bank account. The next day, Coberg kept questioning the victim about a financial dispute and his partner’s location. Further, Iza also held the victim at gunpoint and demanded money from the partner, who paid the amount later that day. They also took L.A.’s passport before dropping him off at his hotel.
Prior to this, in September 2021, Coberg and Iza also worked together to target a rival, “R.C.,” by setting him up for a fake drug arrest.
Iza and two other deputies, including Christopher Cadman, held R.C. at gunpoint and forced him to pay Iza $25,000. To trap R.C., they got his ex-girlfriend to pretend that she wanted them to get back together and invited him from Miami to Los Angeles to meet her and do drugs together. On Coberg’s advice, she bought R.C.’s plane ticket, picked him up in a white Tesla, drove him to get cocaine and psilocybin mushrooms, and then took him to Paramount.
There, Coberg and Cadman tricked a deputy by lying about a tip that someone in the Tesla had a warrant and drugs. The deputy stopped the car, found the drugs, and arrested R.C. After R.C. was arrested due to the set up, the duo filmed the arrest and Coberg texted Cadman, thanking him and saying, “The kid enjoyed it.”
Iza also mocked R.C. by sending him photos of the arrest and a message: “For a drug dealer, you [messed] with the wrong people.” U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson scheduled Coberg’s sentencing for February 17, 2026, where he could face up to 20 years in prison for the extortion plot and 10 years for violating R.C.’s rights.
The FBI and IRS, with help from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, are still investigating related corruption. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maxwell Coll from the National Security Division is handling the prosecution.
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