A $245 million Bitcoin heist led police to a ‘Godfather’ who hired Sheriff’s deputies as enforcers

On a leafy Connecticut road in the summer of 2024, would-be kidnappers pulled a couple from their Lamborghini SUV, beat them in broad daylight and threw them into a van, only to be arrested shortly thereafter as multiple witnesses, including a passing off-duty FBI agent, called police. The investigation would lead police to some sensational findings. The attack turned out to be linked to a $245 million Bitcoin heist the month before involving the couple’s son. And this week, a California cryptocurrency mogul who authorities say called himself “The Godfather” and had previously hired off-duty sheriff’s deputies to strongarm his enemies admitted to orchestrating the attempted abduction to get a piece of the son’s stolen loot. The California man, 25-year-old Adam Iza, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. Federal prosecutors are seeking a prison term of at least 14 years when he’s sentenced. Iza’s lawyer, William Paetzold, didn’t immediately respond to Tuesday phone and email messages seeking comment. The case is part of an increasing trend worldwide of cryptocurrency theft spilling over to violence. Nightclub fight spawns kidnapping plot A month before the abduction attempt, one of Iza’s alleged co-conspirators got into a beef with the couple’s son, Veer Chetal, at a Miami nightclub, according to an FBI affidavit. The man, James Schwab, then told an acquaintance to rob Chetal and his friends at their Miami rental home, authorities said. It’s not clear if the robbery happened. Schwab’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to phone messages seeking comment. Then came the Bitcoin heist. A few weeks after the nightclub fight, Chetal and two other men hatched an elaborate online scheme that involved impersonating technical support staff for Google and a cryptocurrency exchange. They managed to steal 4,100 Bitcoins — worth about $245 million at the time — from a Washington, D.C., reside