HKAN | Jul 6

JUST IN: Scammer Impersonating Trump–Vance Inaugural Committee Steals $250K in USDT

A scammer pretending to be Steve Witkoff, co-chair of the Trump–Vance Inaugural Committee, successfully stole $250,300 in USDT from a donor by using a deceptive email domain typo (@t47lnaugural.com instead of the legitimate @t47inaugural.com) .

Scam Details and Modus Operandi

Victim contacted on December 24, 2024, via an email that looked official but had a lowercase “L” replacing the "i" in the domain .

Two days later, on December 26, the victim sent 250,300 USDT.ETH to the scammer’s wallet address (ending in “58c52”) .

Within hours, funds were quickly moved through multiple wallets in an attempt to obscure their origin .

Authorities Recover Part of the Lost Funds

Through blockchain tracing, the FBI recovered $40,300 in USDT, which is now subject to a civil forfeiture action to return funds to the victim .

The U.S. Attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, and FBI’s Steven Jensen emphasized the danger of subtle typos in scam emails and urged vigilance .

The DOJ credited Tether for assisting in freezing the recovered funds .

Public Warning & Advice

Authorities remind the public to:

Check and double-check email domains, especially when handling crypto transfers.

Never send cryptocurrency, gift cards, or money to individuals contacted via unsolicited email or phone calls .

Report suspected scams to the FBI’s IC3 portal.

Final Take

This case highlights the sophistication of business email compromise scams, where small typos in domain names can deceive even experienced individuals. While thanks to Tether’s cooperation some funds were recovered, the majority remains unretrievable—underlining the urgent need for crypto security awareness.