Scammers Steal $250K in Crypto Posing as Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee

Nigeria-based one or more scammers allegedly impersonated the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, stealing $250,300 in Ethereum-based USDT from an intended donor.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced Wednesday that the office filed a complaint, classifying the scam as a Business Email Compromise Scheme.

According to the prosecutors, the FBI has traced 40,353 USDT.ETH from the transaction via blockchain analysis. The complaint seeks the recovery of these funds to be returned to the victim.

The scammer sent an email to the victim last December, posing as Steve Witkoff, co-chair of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.

The mail address used by the scammer had a lowercase ‘L’ instead of a lowercase ‘I’ in the mail @t47lnaugural.com. The campaign’s real email address is @t47inaugural.com. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia noted that the fake address appeared nearly identical to the original, given the font used by the perpetrator.

The Nigerian scammer then instructed the victim to deposit funds into a crypto wallet ending in 58c52. On December 26, 2024, the victim sent crypto to the wallet, believing that it belonged to the Inaugural Committee. Per the FBI, $250,300 worth of USDT.ETH was moved from the wallet to another crypto address within two hours.

United States Seeks Recovery of $40,300 in Cryptoscheme that Impersonated Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee

https://t.co/AsrtC6Xto7@USAttyPirro @FBIWFO pic.twitter.com/tUrOFl51xe

“Impersonation scams take many forms and cost Americans billions in losses each year,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen. “To avoid becoming a victim, carefully review email addresses, website URLs, and spelling in any messages you receive.”

Attorney Pirro warned donors to “double and triple check” whether they are sending crypto to their intended recipient.

“It can be extremely difficult for law enforcement to recoup lost funds due to the extremely complex nature of the blockchain.”

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