When Moon Lambos Meet Badge Bribes: Ex-Cop Gets 5 Years for Crypto Godfather's 'Security Detail'

A former Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy has been handed a 63-month sentence in the federal pen, proving that using your badge to do a "Crypto Godfather's" dirty work is a far less effective alpha strategy than just buying and holding.

Michael David Coberg, 44, was ordered to cough up $127,000 in restitution after copping a plea to conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy against rights. His partner in crime was Adam Iza, founder of the crypto trading platform Zort, who fancied himself 'The Godfather'—a title that, unlike most crypto tokens, actually came with some tangible, incriminating utility.

Prosecutors detailed that Coberg was on a sweet, steady monthly retainer of at least $20,000 for his "security services," which apparently included the classic protection racket playbook. In a cinematic October 2021 episode, he escorted a victim dubbed 'L.A.' to Iza's house, where Iza filmed L.A. transferring a cool $127k to his bank account while Coberg provided the intimidating backdrop. The crew then headed to a shooting range for an encore, where Iza decided to up the pressure by holding L.A. at gunpoint to demand more crypto, or perhaps just more fiat—the indictment wasn't specific on the preferred currency.

In a separate, equally creative scheme, Coberg conspired with Iza and crew to set up another mark, 'R.C.,' for a drug bust that would make any B-movie producer proud. They lured R.C. from Miami to LA, helped him procure drugs, and then conveniently arranged for a Sheriff's deputy to pull him over and make the arrest, turning a potential rug pull into a literal traffic stop.

The prosecution dryly noted that Coberg "abused the awesome power of his badge... for an all-too-common reason: greed." Meanwhile, Iza remains in custody, awaiting his sentencing for running what authorities call a network that blended off-duty cops with intimidation and crypto disputes—a DAO for bad actors, if you will.

This case is a tidy chapter in the ongoing saga of crypto-adjacent organized crime, where old-school badge authority met Web3-era avarice, resulting in the kind of exit liquidity that only a federal prison can provide.