"Ex-Girlfriend Admits to $2.6M Crypto Tax Evasion"
1min read The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that Iris Ramaya Au, the former girlfriend of self-proclaimed crypto "Godfather" Adam Iza, has pleaded guilty to federal tax charges. Au admitted to filing a false tax return by failing to report more than $2.6 million in illicit gains obtained through her ex-boyfriend's criminal operations.
The case involves a complex web of financial crimes carried out between 2020 and 2024. According to court documents, Au played a key role in Iza's criminal activities by creating shell corporations and opening bank accounts in the names of those entities at his direction. She transferred more than $2.6 million from these various accounts to her personal bank accounts between 2020 and 2023, failing to report this income to the Internal Revenue Service despite being aware of the illegal source of the funds.
The illicit money funded an extravagant lifestyle for the couple. They used the proceeds to pay approximately $1 million in bribes to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies and to purchase luxury real estate, cars, jewelry, and clothing. Prosecutors revealed that Au and Iza spent nearly $10 million on "recreational activities" using the ill-gotten gains. They also acquired around $16 million in cryptocurrency with the fraudulent funds.
Iza, 24, was arrested in September 2024 and charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, and tax evasion. In January, he pleaded guilty to these charges, admitting his involvement in multiple illegal schemes. One of Iza’s primary criminal operations involved fraudulently obtaining facebook and meta advertising accounts, defrauding Meta of approximately $37 million.
Iza's criminal activities extended beyond financial fraud. In 2018, he allegedly impersonated FBI agents to steal cryptocurrency at gunpoint, holding a victim and his girlfriend hostage while demanding laptop passwords to access their digital assets. Authorities also indicate that Iza attempted a home invasion in 2022 to steal crypto assets, marking a dangerous escalation in crypto-related crimes.
Perhaps most concerning was Iza’s corruption of law enforcement. He admitted to paying off-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies to provide private security and to harass his business rivals through illegal means. These corrupt deputies allegedly obtained search warrants and confidential law enforcement information targeting people with whom Iza had 