A former Los Angeles County deputy and helicopter pilot was sentenced Monday to more than 63 months in federal prison for helping a cryptocurrency businessman extort a rival and arrange the illegal drug possession arrest of another adversary in Paramount, according to the Department of Justice.
Michael David Coberg, a 44-year-old Eastvale resident, pleaded guilty in Sept. 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion and one count of conspiracy against rights.
In addition to prison time, he was also ordered to pay $127,000 in restitution.
According to the DOJ, while employed as an LASD deputy and helicopter pilot, Coberg worked on the side with 25-year-old Adam Iza, a self-proclaimed “Godfather” who engaged in fraud marketing and cryptocurrency schemes. Iza has been in custody since Sept. 2024 after pleading guilty to federal charges and is awaiting sentencing.
Iza reportedly paid Coberg at least $20,000 per month for his services and, at one point, planned to start an anabolic steroids business with him, according to the DOJ.
In Oct. 2021, Coberg reportedly accompanied other security guards to pick up a victim whose business partner was having a financial dispute with Iza.
After the victim, identified as “L.A.,” was transported to Iza’s home, Coberg informed the victim that he was an active-duty law enforcement officer before beginning an interrogation about the financial dispute. Iza stood nearby with a firearm on a desk and an assault rifle displayed.
While Coberg stood watch, Iza reportedly demanded and recorded a video of L.A. transferring $127,000 to a bank account he controlled. Iza then directed security guards to take the victim’s passport before driving the victim back to a hotel.
The interrogation continued the next day, when Coberg reportedly took Iza and the victim to a shooting range in Iza’s residence and left them alone. The victim was then held at gunpoint until their business partner transferred money to Iza, which the business partner did later in the day, the DOJ said.
In Sept. 2021, according to the DOJ, Coberg conspired with Iza and others to lure another victim from Miami to Los Angeles to set him up for an illegal narcotics arrest.
Coberg learned of a dispute between Iza and the victim – identified as “R.C.” – the previous month. Iza and two reportedly corrupt LASD deputies working for him forced the victim at gunpoint to transfer $25,000 to an account Iza controlled.
Coberg and other co-conspirators then reportedly set up a plan where the victim’s ex-girlfriend called the victim and pretended to be interested in pursuing a romantic relationship to convince him to fly to Los Angeles and use drugs together.
The co-conspirator purchased an airline ticket for R.C., picked him up at LAX in a white Tesla, drove him to get drugs and then traveled to a location in Paramount where an LASD deputy would make the traffic stop and arrest.
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The corrupt LASD deputy, identified as 34-year-old Christopher Michael Cadman of Fullerton, had reportedly participated in the August 2021 victim intimidation resulting in the $25,000 payment to Iza and helped set up the false arrest.
Cadman pleaded guilty in August 2025 to federal criminal charges and will be sentenced in the coming months.
With Cadman’s assistance, Coberg lied to a fellow LASD deputy that a “confidential informant” was driving a white Tesla with someone who had an outstanding warrant and possessed illegal drugs.
That deputy later conducted the traffic stop, searched the Tesla and found cocaine in the car and psilocybin mushrooms inside the victim’s backpack. The victim was then arrested.
Coberg reportedly drove past the scene during the arrest in a black Cadillac Escalade SUV with the window rolled down, as Iza watched from the passenger seat. Iza then reportedly took videos and photographs of the arrest.
Coberg texted Cadman after the arrest to thank him for facilitating the stop and said, “the kid enjoyed it,” in reference to Iza.
Iza later reportedly taunted the victim by sending a photo of his arrest and booking photo, texting, “[f]or a drug dealer, you [expletive] with the wrong people.”
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation worked with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on this case.
“Coberg swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Instead, [he] betrayed that oath and those he swore to protect, abusing the awesome power of his badge. And he did so for an all-too-common reason: greed.”
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