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Scammers based in Nigeria reportedly impersonated the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, misappropriating $250,300 in Ethereum-based USDT from a prospective donor.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced on Wednesday that a complaint has been filed, categorizing the fraud as a Business Email Compromise Scheme.
Prosecutors indicated that the FBI has tracked 40,353 USDT.ETH from the transaction through blockchain analysis. The complaint aims to recover these funds for the victim.
Scammer Deceived Victim Using Subtle Address Mistake
The fraudster emailed the victim last December, masquerading as Steve Witkoff, co-chair of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.
The email address utilized by the scammer contained a lowercase ‘L’ instead of a lowercase ‘I’ in the domain @t47lnaugural.com. The legitimate campaign email address is @t47inaugural.com. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia pointed out that the counterfeit address closely resembled the authentic one, given the font style employed by the scammer.
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The Nigerian fraudster then directed the victim to transfer funds into a crypto wallet ending in 58c52. On December 26, 2024, the victim sent cryptocurrency to the wallet, under the impression that it belonged to the Inaugural Committee. According to the FBI, $250,300 worth of USDT.ETH was transferred 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
— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) July 2, 2025
“Impersonation scams manifest in various ways and result in billions of dollars in losses for Americans annually,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen. “To prevent becoming a victim, meticulously check email addresses, website URLs, and spelling in any communications you receive.”
Attorney Pirro cautioned donors to “double and triple check” that they are sending cryptocurrency to the correct recipient.
“Recovering lost funds can be exceedingly challenging for law enforcement due to the highly intricate nature of the blockchain.”
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