A Nigeria-based Binance account tied to the name Ehiremen Aigbokhan has been linked to wire fraud and money laundering by an online scammer who pretended to be a Trump supporter, allegedly defrauding more than $250,000 worth of cryptocurrency by claiming to be part of the president’s 2025 inaugural committee; federal officials reported this week, according to The Independent.
In late December, the fraudsters sent out emails “purporting to be Steve Witkoff,” then the co-chair of the committee, soliciting over $250,000 worth of USDT.ETH cryptocurrency, prosecutors alleged in a federal court complaint.
The victim paid the funds, and the crypto was soon distributed across “numerous other cryptocurrency addresses,” including a Nigeria-based Binance account tied to the name Ehiremen Aigbokhan, according to court documents.
“All donors should double and triple check that they are sending cryptocurrency to their intended recipient,” Washington U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement. “It can be challenging for law enforcement to recoup lost funds due to the extremely complex nature of the blockchain.”
Binance and Tether, firms and currencies associated with the alleged scam, complied with FBI requests later that month to freeze accounts containing some of the stolen funds. Federal prosecutors are seeking to seize approximately $40,000 worth of cryptocurrency across two accounts that have not been withdrawn.
Officials allege the money was gained through wire fraud and money laundering.
The Independent has contacted an email officials said was associated with Aigbokhan for comment.
Federal officials stated that the scheme was an example of a “business email compromise scam,” noting that the fraudster made subtle tweaks to email domain names, substituting a lowercase “L” for an uppercase “I” to appear associated with the official @t47lnaugural.com email addresses.
Trump and Witkoff, now a special Middle East envoy for the administration, are associated with a variety of legitimate crypto endeavours, including World Liberty Financial, which they launched with their sons last year.
