Crooked Cops Paid For by Hackers

This is not what I want to hear and certainly not all or even most cops are crooked, but there is no way to know which ones are on the take.

Of course, this is not new. Going back to prohibition and earlier, there were cops that were willing to look away in exchange for cash.

HOPEFULLY, these cops are among the very few.

An FBI indictment says that Los Angeles resident Adam Iza is the founder of a crypto platform, Zort. It claims a blend of crypto and AI – how could that possibly be a scam.

But investors lost their money after Iza bought Lamborghinis, cosmetic surgery, a $28 million home and more. With their money.

But that was not why the FBI was investigating him. He, according to the FBI, had “several” deputies from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) on his payroll. Shades of old times.

One of Iza’s victims, called “E.Z.” in the indictment, said that three men showed up at his home to try and steal his laptop to get his crypto holdings. The intruders were scared off when E.Z. started shooting at them.

The FBI obtained a copy of a search warrant executed by LASD deputies and a deputy added E.Z.’s cell phone to the warrant — illegally. Likely this was to give the attackers his address so they could rob him.

In text message to someone, Iza wrote:

“Damn my guy actually filed the warrant,” Iza allegedly texted someone after the location warrant was entered. “That’s some serious shit to do for someone….risking a 24 years career. I pay him 280k a month for complete resources. They’re active-duty.”

It is not clear what else Iza got for $280,000 a month.

I will let you read the rest of the story, but it has the makings of a Hollywood direct-to-Netflix movie.

Although I am not sure what I would say if someone offered me $280,000 a month, I hope I would not go over to the dark side. These deputies will definitely will have time to consider their life choices.

The hackers and swatters involved have already been convicted. Credit: Brian Krebs

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