Adam Iza, known as the Crypto Godfather, has been indicted for his role in a 2024 kidnapping plot targeting the parents of an alleged crypto scammer in Danbury, Connecticut. The scheme stemmed from a massive bitcoin theft and involved hiring assailants from Miami. Iza's federal sentencing in another case has been delayed as a result.
Adam Iza, a figure dubbed the Crypto Godfather by investigators, was indicted on November 20 for orchestrating a kidnapping in Danbury, Connecticut, last August. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Iza and two associates—James Schwab, 22, from Peachtree Corners, Georgia, and Saif Faiq, 22, from St. Louis—hired six men from Miami to abduct Sushil and Radhika Chetal, parents of 18-year-old Veer Chetal. The plot aimed to ransom the family over Veer's alleged involvement in a group that scammed 4,100 bitcoin, worth about $243 million, from a Washington, D.C., man.
On August 25, 2024, the Chetals were house-hunting in their Lamborghini Urus when a white Honda Civic rammed them from behind and a white work van blocked their path. Masked men in black emerged, beat Sushil with a baseball bat, bound both parents with duct tape, and dragged them into the van. Witnesses, including an off-duty FBI agent, called 911 as the scene unfolded. Police pursued the van, which crashed after weaving through traffic; four suspects fled but were soon captured hiding nearby, while two others were found at an Airbnb in Roxbury, Connecticut. The Lamborghini was recovered in the woods.
The motive linked back to Veer, a former honor student set to attend Rutgers University and reportedly part of 'the Com,' a network of hacking groups. Iza, whose birth name is Ahmed Faiq and who is Saif's brother, allegedly funded and directed the operation remotely, with Faiq conducting surveillance. Schwab has pleaded not guilty; Iza and Faiq have not yet entered pleas. The six Miami men, including Angel Borrero (aka 'Chi Chi'), Reynaldo Diaz, and Ricardo Estrada, have all pleaded guilty to conspiracy and carjacking charges. Three face additional counts in a separate July 2024 Miami robbery.
Iza was arrested in Los Angeles about a month later on unrelated charges, pleading guilty to tax evasion, wire fraud, and using Los Angeles Sheriff's Department officers for extortion. His sentencing, originally set for this month, is now March 2. 'His mind is dangerous as fuck,' said Enzo Zelocchi, an alleged victim. Joshua Cooper-Duckett of Cryptoforensic Investigators noted Iza's rarity in blending crypto crime with real-world violence: 'A lot of these groups... don’t typically spill out into the real world.' Veer and two online aliases, Anne Hathaway and VersaceGod, face charges in D.C. for the bitcoin heist.