Nigerian Scammer Posing as Trump Ally Steve Witkoff Stole 250K in Crypto From One Political Donor

A Nigeria-based scammer posing as Steve Witkoff, a long-time ally of U.S. President Donald Trump and co-chair of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, stole roughly $250,000 in crypto from a would-be political donor, in accordance with a latest press announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

According to courtroom paperwork, the scammer created a spoofed e-mail handle that carefully resembled Witkoff’s reputable Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee e-mail handle, and was in a position to trick at the very least one donor into depositing $250,000 price of USDT.ETH into the scammer’s pockets. Though the scammer then took steps to launder their ill-gotten positive factors, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was in a position to get better and freeze 40,300 USDT.ETH, half of which was discovered in a Binance account in the identify of Ehiremen Aigbokhan, a Lagos-based fraudster or “yahoo boy.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has moved to return the recovered funds to the sufferer. Over $210,000 in crypto despatched to the scammer has not but been recovered.

“All donors should double and triple check that they are sending cryptocurrency to their intended recipient,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro stated in an announcement. “It can be extremely difficult for law [enforcement] to recoup lost funds due to the extremely complex nature of the blockchain. Nevertheless, my office and our law enforcement partners stand ready to go toe-to-toe with criminals and make victims whole.”

According to a number of native media shops, U.S. officers are in search of a proper arrest warrant for Aigbokhan.

Witkoff and his son Zach have shut ties to the Trump household’s primary crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.

Binance and Tether each cooperated with the federal government’s investigation, the DOJ stated.