Crime & Safety
Ex-Girlfriend Of Crypto 'Godfather' Sentenced To Prison For Hiding $2.6M From IRS
The sentencing is the latest in a series of cases tied to the disgraced cryptocurrency mogul.
LOS ANGELES, CA — The Orange County-based former girlfriend of a crypto fraud defendant who dubbed himself "the godfather" was sentenced Monday to a year and a half in prison for failing to report more than $2.6 million derived from her ex-boyfriend's scheme.
Iris Ramaya Au, 37, of Irvine, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson, who also ordered her to pay $1.48 million in restitution and to forfeit a fleet of luxury and high-performance cars, designer handbags, and three sculptures, among other assets.
Au pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court in March 2025 to submitting a false tax return.
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Au's plea deal states that from 2020 to 2024, ex-boyfriend Adam Iza committed a series of crimes, including fraudulently obtaining access to advertising accounts and lines of credit provided by Facebook Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. and selling access to those accounts. Iza obtained millions of dollars of unreported income as a result of the schemes.
Iza, 26, formerly of Beverly Hills and Newport Beach, pleaded guilty in January 2025 to federal conspiracy, wire fraud and tax evasion charges, and is expected to be sentenced in downtown Los Angeles next month. He is already serving a 15-year prison term for his involvement in an attempted robbery of Bitcoin and a kidnapping in Connecticut in August 2024.
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At Iza's direction, Au created shell corporations and opened bank accounts in the names of those entities. She then used illicit funds placed into the accounts to pay about $1 million to now-former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies her ex-boyfriend had corrupted, according to court papers.
The money was also used for the purchase or lease of luxury real estate, cars, jewelry and clothing, to pay for recreational activities for Iza and herself valued at nearly $10 million, and to acquire $16 million in cryptocurrency for Iza, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Au admitted in her plea agreement that she transferred more than $2.6 million from these various accounts to her personal bank accounts during the period from 2020 through 2023, income she failed to report on her federal tax returns.
City News Service
