The former girlfriend of a self-proclaimed cryptocurrency "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 facing a single-count information charge for subscribing to a false tax return.
Au has agreed to the felony charge and is expected to appear in United States District Court in Los Angeles soon.
According to her plea agreement, between 2020 and 2024, Iza committed crimes including fraudulently accessing advertising accounts and credit lines from Facebook Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc., selling access for profit. This led to millions in unreported income.
Iza also engaged deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) for private security services, instructing them to obtain search warrants and confidential law enforcement data targeting his financial and personal adversaries.
Under Iza's direction, Au created shell corporations and opened bank accounts where illicit funds were deposited. She used these funds for various expenses such as paying approximately $1 million to deputies mainly in cash, acquiring luxury real estate, cars, jewelry, clothing, recreational activities valued at nearly $10 million, and purchasing about $16 million in cryptocurrency for Iza.
In her plea agreement, Au admitted transferring more than $2.6 million into her personal bank accounts from these funds during 2020 through 2023 without reporting it on her federal tax returns.
Upon pleading guilty, Au could face up to three years in federal prison.
On January 30th, Iza pleaded guilty before a federal judge on charges of conspiracy against rights, wire fraud, and tax evasion. His sentencing is set for June 16th with a potential sentence of up to 35 years in prison. He has been held in custody since September 2024.
The IRS Criminal Investigation unit and the FBI are investigating the case. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel J. O’Brien and J. Jamari Buxton from the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section along with Assistant United States Attorney Maxwell K. Coll from the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section.