E. Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California
The former girlfriend of a cryptocurrency fraudster known as "The Godfather" has agreed to plead guilty to a federal tax charge for failing to report over $2.6 million in illicit income. The Justice Department announced that Iris Ramaya Au, 35, from Irvine, is charged with subscribing to a false tax return.
Au is expected to appear in United States District Court in Los Angeles soon. According to her plea agreement, from 2020 to 2024, Iza committed various crimes including fraudulently accessing advertising accounts and lines of credit provided by Facebook Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc., and selling access to these accounts. These schemes resulted in millions of dollars of unreported income.
Iza also involved deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) for private security services, directing them to obtain court-authorized search warrants and confidential information targeting individuals with whom he had disputes.
Under Iza's direction, Au created shell corporations and opened bank accounts in their names. She used the illicit funds deposited into these accounts for payments amounting to approximately $1 million to the deputies, mostly in cash, and for purchasing or leasing luxury real estate, cars, jewelry, clothing, recreational activities valued at nearly $10 million for herself and Iza, and acquiring about $16 million in cryptocurrency for him.
Au admitted transferring more than $2.6 million from these accounts into her personal bank accounts between 2020 and 2023 without reporting this income on her federal tax returns.
After pleading guilty, Au could face up to three years in federal prison.
On January 30th, Iza pleaded guilty before a federal judge to charges including conspiracy against rights, wire fraud, and tax evasion. His sentencing is set for June 16th where he could face up to 35 years in federal prison. He has been held in federal custody since September 2024.
The investigation is being conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI.
Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel J. O’Brien and J. Jamari Buxton of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section along with Assistant United States Attorney Maxwell K. Coll of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section are prosecuting the case.
