Avi Schwartzman

Background

Avi Schwartzman is an American hacker based in Los Santos and an old associate of Lester Crest, with whom he once worked in sales. He was also a major investor in the crypto firm KnoWay. Lester describes him as extremely energetic, and Avi is famously convinced that the government is out to get him. He is voiced by Rod Brogan and was introduced with the Heists update.

Role in GTA Online

• Heists: In *Pacific Standard - Signal*, the crew must deliver a transponder to Avi so he can tune them into the bank's frequency. Government agents have him cornered in a shack on a small island off the west coast, so the players ride Seasharks out, clear the agents and escort him to a drop-off where Paige takes over.
• The Diamond Casino Heist: Government Signal Jammers disrupt his radio broadcasts. Destroying all 50 of them unlocks Avi as a hacker for the heist. He is the most expensive option at a 10% cut, but gives 3:30 in the vault when undetected (2:26 if detected).
• Los Santos Tuners: In *The Data Contract*, he hires the player to steal four hard drives from the bunker of Merryweather CEO Don Percival, then defend him on Elysian Island while he uploads the data.
• San Andreas Mercenaries: Merryweather kidnaps him over that leak, and Charlie Reed sends the player to pull him out of the server farm at the NOOSE Headquarters.
• A Safehouse in the Hills: In December 2025, he contacts the player through a payphone in Little Seoul and leads the *KnoWay Out* missions against an FIB surveillance program run on KnoWay's self-driving cars. Afterward, he pays the player with rerouted KnoWay funds and goes off the grid.

Trivia

• His usual vehicle is a Suntrap boat, and he dreams of retiring to deep-sea fishing.
• He is unrelated to Abe Schwartzman.