Eric Chase Saavedra, a 42-year-old former Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputy, was sentenced Monday to 21 months in federal prison for conspiracy against rights and for filing a false tax return. US District Judge Percy Anderson also ordered him to pay $90,984 in restitution to the IRS.
Saavedra ran a private security firm, Saavedra & Associates, and was hired by Adam Iza for round-the-clock protection at $100,000 a month — first from August 2021 to March 2022, then again from July 2024 until Iza's arrest in September. He is the fifth former deputy sentenced in the broader case built around Iza, who calls himself the "Crypto Godfather."
How the badge got used
In his plea agreement, Saavedra admitted to misusing his departmental credentials to pull personal information on people connected to Iza. He fabricated a search warrant to pressure a target into paying for security, and he misled a narcotics detective — a move that sent a drug raid onto the home of an extortion victim. He also falsely claimed he needed a warrant to track a man's cellphone, and armed individuals then tried to force their way into that home.
Saavedra separated from LASD on March 13, 2025, roughly six months after Iza's arrest.
The deputies already sentenced
Saavedra's sentence lands after four other former deputies in the same case: Michael Coberg, Scott Simpkins, David Rodriguez, and Christopher Cadman. Each was sentenced before him. The government's theory has been consistent across the group — sworn officers allegedly lent police tools, data, and in some cases manpower to a private security operation tied to Iza.
Where Iza's own cases stand
It's worth separating the threads here, because they're often lumped together. Iza is currently serving 15 years in federal prison in a case tied to an attempted bitcoin robbery and a kidnapping in Connecticut in August 2024. That's a different jurisdiction and a different set of charges from the Central District of California matter, where he is separately awaiting sentencing on conspiracy against rights, wire fraud, and tax evasion.
Saavedra's sentencing is a California case. The Connecticut sentence is already done.
What's left on the calendar
Iza's sentencing in the Central District of California is the next scheduled step in the sprawling set of prosecutions that grew out of his security arrangements and his crypto dealings. No date for that hearing has been set in the facts released so far, and it remains the last major piece of the case still unresolved.
