Nigerian Scammer Impersonates Trump-Vance Committee, Steals $250,300 in Crypto

A Nigerian-based fraudster is being pursued by the FBI after reportedly impersonating the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee to steal $250,300 worth of cryptocurrency from an unsuspecting donor.

According to a statement released by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the scam was carried out through a sophisticated Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro revealed on Wednesday that her office had filed a complaint seeking the forfeiture of 40,353 USDT.ETH—cryptocurrency linked to the fraudulent operation.

“According to the complaint, one or more perpetrators impersonated the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, fraudulently stole $250,300 worth of cryptocurrency from an intended donor, and then laundered the funds through other wallets,” the statement read.

The scheme reportedly took place on December 24, 2024, when the victim received a deceptive email claiming to be from Steve Witkoff, Co-Chair of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. However, while legitimate committee emails use the domain “@t47inaugural.com,” the scammer used a nearly identical domain, “@t47lnaugural.com” — replacing the lowercase “i” with a lowercase “l,” a character swap that can go unnoticed in certain fonts.

U.S. authorities are actively investigating the case, with the alleged scammer believed to be operating out of Lagos, Nigeria.