How a Nigerian Scammer Stole $250k in Crypto by Posing as Trump Committee

A scammer based in Nigeria has been accused of orchestrating a sophisticated impersonation scheme that led to the theft of $250,300 worth of cryptocurrency from a U.S. donor, according to a complaint filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

The fraud, revealed in a statement on Wednesday, involved the impersonation of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee and the use of a deceptive email address that closely resembled the official one. The email, which appeared to be from Steve Witkoff, Co-Chair of the committee, urged the victim to send funds to a cryptocurrency wallet, believing the donation was legitimate.

“Legitimate emails from the committee use the domain ‘@t47inaugural.com’; however, the scammer used ‘@t47lnaugural.com,’ substituting a lowercase ‘L’ for an ‘I’ — a difference that is nearly undetectable in certain fonts,” the complaint noted.

The victim, deceived by the email, transferred 250,300 USDT.ETH (a cryptocurrency tied to Ethereum) on December 26, 2024. Within hours, the funds were moved from the initial wallet to multiple other cryptocurrency addresses in an apparent laundering attempt.

Through blockchain analysis, the FBI was able to trace and recover $40,300 of the stolen amount, which is now subject to forfeiture in the civil action. The U.S. authorities say they are working to retrieve the remaining funds and compensate the victim.

“Impersonation scams take many forms and cost Americans billions in losses each year,” said Steven J. Jensen, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. He urged the public to scrutinize emails for minor discrepancies and to never send money or digital assets to unknown parties.

The FBI has also encouraged victims or those suspicious of scams to report to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.