Hacker may have used 'fake' Donald Trump inauguration emails to steal $250,000 from crypto investor
A hacker allegedly used "fake" Donald Trump inauguration emails to steal over $250,000 in cryptocurrency from a crypto investor, federal officials have claimed. The scam involved an online fraudster posing as part of the US President's 2025 inaugural committee. In a complaint filed in a federal court in December 2024, prosecutors alleged that scammers sent emails "purporting to be Steve Witkoff," who was then the co-chair of the committee. These emails were used to steal over $250,000 worth of USDT.ETH cryptocurrency. According to court documents, the victim paid the funds, and the cryptocurrency was soon distributed across "numerous other cryptocurrency addresses," including a Binance account based in Nigeria linked to the name
Ehiremen Aigbokhan
.
US Attorney's advice on how crypto investors can avoid such scams
In a statement, Washington
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro
said:
'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.'
Companies and digital currencies linked to the alleged scam, including Binance and Tether, responded to FBI requests later that month by freezing accounts holding portions of the stolen funds. Federal prosecutors are now moving to seize approximately $40,000 in cryptocurrency spread across two accounts that remain untouched.
Authorities claim the funds were obtained through
wire fraud and money laundering
.
Federal officials described the operation as a
'business email compromise scam,'
explaining that the suspect manipulated email domain names by replacing an uppercase 'I' with a lowercase 'L' to mimic the official @t47lnaugural.com address.
Trump and Witkoff, who currently serve as a special Middle East envoy for the administration, are involved in several legitimate cryptocurrency ventures, including World Liberty Financial, which they launched alongside their sons last year.
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