The founder of a cryptocurrency trading platform has been accused of paying Los Angeles police officers to help him extort a victim for their digital assets.

A complaint filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation accuses Adam Iza of bribing three Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies to solicit police data and file dubious search warrants against a business associate, identified only as E.Z., in a bid to extort cryptocurrency.

Iza, who founded the crypto trading platform Zort Inc., allegedly paid the deputies up to $280,000 per month and used the information he acquired to threaten E.Z. after a failed kidnapping attempt in Riverside County in November 2021.

According to a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department report reviewed by the FBI, E.Z., who had known Iza for over two years, claimed that Iza arranged for two men, including a former sheriff’s deputy, to force him into an SUV at gunpoint. E.Z. managed to escape and contacted law enforcement. 

Iza, however, told police that he had feared for his own safety and had called the men as bodyguards.

The FBI report added that Iza hired a private investigator to track E.Z. and sent him images of sensitive law enforcement data, including a “GPS search warrant” for a phone number that belonged to the victim.

After the failed abduction, E.Z. claimed to have received messages from unknown numbers containing pictures of his personal details pulled from police databases. 

The messages also showed images of his family, heightening the intimidation efforts, according to the complaint. The harassment continued, and E.Z. claimed he was pressured by Iza to hand over a laptop that allegedly contained cryptocurrency.

Further, Iza has also been accused of extorting another victim by masquerading as an FBI officer and stealing a laptop containing crypto while holding the victim at gunpoint for the password.

Iza is also accused of evading taxes by hiding millions of dollars in income, some of which came from cryptocurrency transactions. Between 2020 and 2022, Iza and his associates allegedly amassed more than $30 million, funneled the money through shell companies, and used the funds to purchase luxury items such as cars and to cover the rent for a mansion in Bel Air.

Prosecutors have charged Iza with conspiracy against rights and tax evasion. He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 8.

Crypto demand fueling crime spree

Sadly, cases like this aren’t rare in the crypto world, with the sector seeing its share of extortion and kidnappings. As the value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin continues to rise, they’ve become prime targets for criminals.

As previously reported by crypto.news, in August, the Malaysian police were looking for four kidnappers who demanded and received a $1.2 million crypto ransom from the relatives of a victim.

In a separate case, authorities in Hong Kong arrested two Kidnappers who demanded $66,000 USDT in ransom payment.

Last year, a cryptocurrency portfolio manager for a Dubai-based company was abducted in Spain, and the culprits demanded 1 million euros as ransom in cash and cryptocurrencies.

Meanwhile, in July, a foreigner in the Solomianskyi district in Kyiv, Ukraine, was robbed and murdered for 3 Bitcoin.

HashKey Capital brought the history of crypto to life at Token2049 with immersive theater experience Decode: Legacy, hosted at Singapore’s iconic Raffles Hotel.

Decode: Legacy eschewed the cocktails and panel discussions typically seen at crypto events, in favor of a “journey that underscored the far-reaching influence and potential of blockchain technology,” HashKey Capital CEO Deng Chao explained in a press release shared with Decrypt. He added that, “Our objective was to deliver an experience that went beyond the ordinary, immersing attendees in the narrative of crypto’s evolution in a way that felt both tangible and meaningful.”

“We want to create a very cultural experience for everyone to think about why we’re still building in this industry, 16 years after Bitcoin’s invention,” Siya Yang, Head of Marketing at HashKey Capital and Japan Business Partner at HashKey OTC, told Decrypt. “It’s an experience bringing together a whole package of culture, arts and Web3 for our audience.”

Co-hosted by Aethir and CARV, and sponsored by dYdX, Mask Network, Decrypt, Coin Metrics, Fenbushi Capital, Flow Traders, DWF Labs and SlowMist, the “avant-garde showcase” blended “entertainment, education, and cultural reflection,” in a time-traveling quest that saw guests complete a series of puzzles to unlock the vault of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

Taking in a historical tour through “the invention of Bitcoin, and then Ethereum, the ICO boom, DeFi summer, the FTX collapse, and then this year, the ETF approvals,” Yang explained, the event culminated with participants solving the puzzles to the seed phrase for “Satoshi’s vault,” and a finale featuring crypto celebrity, Blockchain Capital and Tether co-founder Brock Pierce.

“It was an event unlike any other,” Victor Yu, COO of CARV said, adding that the event, “highlighted the collaborative spirit at the heart of the blockchain community.”

That collaborative spirit extended beyond the event itself, Yang said, which was not-for-profit, with “everything that was earned from that event eventually donated to local charity organizations, focusing on education, poverty and the environment.”

With a capacity of just 150 VIP participants, the event was oversubscribed, Yang told Decrypt.

“We got a lot of requests from friends and the outer circles that were asking about tickets for the event,” she said. The plan now is to take the event “to the global stage,” at events including the Hong Kong Web3 Festival in 2025. “Next year, we’re definitely taking it to a higher standard, to a retail level, so everyone will be able to just buy a ticket and see the show themselves,” said Yang. “We hope the guest list can be a gathering of both Web2, TradFi and Web3 people together,” she said, adding that, “Web2 people trying to get an understanding about the history of Web3 will see history unwind right before their eyes, in a very vivid way.”

HashKey Space

Alongside Decode: Legacy, HashKey also brought together crypto leaders for its flagship event HashKey Space. The invite-only event brought together speakers from across the crypto space, including the Solana Foundation, Blockdaemon, Aethir, CARV and Animoca Brands, covering topics ranging from the Bitcoin and Solana ecosystems to DePIN, AI and talent solutions in the decentralized era.

“We want to provide a platform for all the companies in the HashKey ecosystem to work together and think about how they can collaborate, and the new narratives coming out from the ecosystem itself,” Yang said of the panel discussions. She added that, “Everyone is building, busily and happily, and everyone is very confident about the industry itself.”

For its part, HashKey is building out its global business, Yang said, having become the first licensed crypto trading exchange to serve retail users in Hong Kong last year. This year, it received regulatory approval to officially launch futures trading. “We have the HashKey exchange in Hong Kong, and also HashKey Global, which is taking care of the global business,” she said. “We also have our OTC business, which is marching into the Japanese and Middle East markets, acquiring licenses,” she added.

HashKey Capital, meanwhile, has launched three custom indices to track digital assets worldwide, in collaboration with FTSE Russell. “Now we’re also working together with them, and are launching three index funds, on the basis of those indices,” Yang said.

She added that, “We want to do as much good as possible, collaborate with all the other participants in the industry, and try to create a positive image for blockchain and the crypto industry.

The Bitcoin price has hit $65,000 for the first time since early August, thanks to several recent developments that provide a bullish outlook for the flagship crypto. These developments are also why there is the belief that this BTC rally can extend, with its price rising to $80,000 in Uptober, a term used to describe Bitcoin’s bullish nature in October.

Bitcoin Price Can Reach $80,000 In Uptober

Several factors support the Bitcoin price reaching $80,000 in October. One is the macro side, which has provided a major boost for the crypto market, with investors again allocating a significant amount of their capital to risk assets. These macro developments began with the US Fed rate cuts last week when the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points (bps).

This week, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) also announced interest rate cuts and stimulus policies to improve the country’s economy. CoinGape reported that that move was bullish for BTC, noting that the Bitcoin price targets $100,000 following China’s stimulus package and its crypto trade with Russia.

Meanwhile, the latest US GDP data and jobless claims showed that the US economy is healthy, supporting the Fed’s move to cut interest rates by two more 25 bps this year. These world governments will continue adopting monetary easing policies to boost their economies.

In line with this, more liquidity will flow into the BTC ecosystem in October. A Coingape report states that this market liquidity will aid Bitcoin’s surge, which is one of the reasons why its price is likely to keep rallying in October. 

From A Historical And Technical Perspective

From a historical and technical perspective, the Bitcoin price also looks poised to rally to $80,000. Coinglass data shows that October has been one of the most profitable months for BTC in the last eight years.

For context, the flagship crypto has only recorded monthly losses once in October over this period. Moreover, Bitcoin’s gains in October have been double digits. The only time the crypto recorded a single-digit gain was in 2022 when it closed the month with a 5% gain.

In his recent analysis, crypto analyst Jelle suggested that Bitcoin can reach $80,000 in October. The analyst noted that the market structure is now bullish, considering that BTC has breached the $65,000 resistance level. The analyst’s accompanying chart showed that $80,000 was the price target as the flagship crypto continues its uptrend.

Market Volatility Ahead Of October

A lot could still happen between now and Uptober, with the Bitcoin price gearing up for heavy market volatility. CoinGape reported that 89,027 Bitcoin options will expire today, with a notional value of $5.8 billion. The put-call ratio is $0.64, which suggests a bullish sentiment ahead.

The US Core PCE inflation data is also set to be released today by 1:30 p.m. UTC. This could also spark a lot of volatility for the BTC price. The current forecast is that the PCE price index rose by 0.2% in August.

For now, $65,000 remains the key level that Bitcoin bulls must defend if the BTC rally is to extend. Crypto analyst Ali Martinez revealed that 57.77% of Binance users with open positions are currently shorting BTC. This is also something to watch out for, although Bitcoin is currently on course to record its most profitable September ever, having surged by over 10% this month.

At the time of writing, the BTC price is at around $65,400, up over 2% in the last 24 hours. Trading volume is up over 57%, with $39 billion traded during this period.

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Boluwatife Adeyemi

Boluwatife Adeyemi is a well-experienced crypto news writer and editor who has covered topics that cut across DeFi, NFTs, smart contracts, and blockchain interoperability, among others. Boluwatife has a knack for simplifying the most technical concepts and making it easy for crypto newbies to understand. Away from writing, He is an avid basketball lover and a part-time degen.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.