U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office has filed a civil forfeiture complaint to recover $40,300 in cryptocurrency allegedly stolen during a scheme targeting a donor to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. According to the complaint, the scam began when the victim received an email on Christmas Eve, 2024, purporting to be from Steve Witkoff, co-chair of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. All told, the intended donor sent $250,300 worth of crypto, authorities said.
Believing the request was authentic, the victim transferred 250,300 USDT.ETH, a stablecoin pegged to the dollar on the Ethereum blockchain, to a cryptocurrency wallet controlled by the scammer, whose operation was traced to Nigeria. Within two hours, the funds were allegedly laundered through a series of additional wallets, making recovery difficult.
