The accusation alleges that fraudsters, presenting themselves as the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, deceived a benefactor into donating a total of $250,300 in cryptocurrency. The scammers then laundered the proceeds through various wallets. With the help of onchain analysis and the issuers of the stablecoin, Tether, the FBI was able to track and confiscate $40,353 of the funds. The complaint now seeks to return these funds to the victim through civil forfeiture.

The complaint details that on December 24, 2024, a fraudster in Nigeria, posing as Trump-Vance Inaugural Co-Chair Steve Witkoff, sent emails to victims from a deceptive email address (@t47lnaugural.com), swapping the “i” in the legitimate email address for a lowercase “l,” directing them to send funds to a crypto wallet ending in 58c52. A victim, believing the email to be authentic, sent $250,300 worth of USDT on Ethereum two days later.

“All donors should double and triple check that they are sending cryptocurrency 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,” Pirro said. “Nevertheless, my office and our law enforcement partners stand ready to go toe-to-toe with criminals and make victims whole.”

“Impersonation scams take many forms and cost Americans billions in losses each year,” said Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen of the FBI Washington Field Office, which is investigating the case. “To avoid becoming a victim, carefully review email addresses, website URLs, and spelling in any messages you receive. Scammers often use subtle differences to deceive you and gain your trust. Never send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other assets to people you do not know personally or have only interacted with online or over the phone.”

The DOJ encourages anyone who believes they’ve been a victim of cybercrime — such as business email compromise, cryptocurrency, romance, investment, or “pig butchering” scams — to report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Last month, the DOJ acknowledged Tether and crypto exchange Coinbase for assisting the U.S. Secret Service in seizing about $225 million in cryptocurrency tied to separate alleged schemes dating back to 2023 — the largest crypto seizure in the agency’s history.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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