FBI Recovers $40K in Crypto Scam That Impersonated Trump-Vance Campaign Official

Highlights:

• The FBI recovered USDT after a scammer tricked a donor using a fake Trump campaign email address.
• The crypto scam used a small typo in the domain name to make the fake email appear real to the victim.
• Tether helped law enforcement freeze funds after the stolen crypto was moved across multiple wallets quickly.

The FBI has recovered $40,300 in cryptocurrency that scammers stole using a fake email address linked to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. The stolen amount was part of a $250,300 transfer made by a donor who believed the request came from a campaign official. The scammers used a deceptive domain name that looked nearly identical to the official one. U.S. prosecutors said the email misled the victim into sending USDT to a scam wallet. Investigators are now seeking to return the recovered funds through a civil forfeiture action.

United States Seeks Recovery of $40,300 in Cryptoscheme that Impersonated Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee

🔗https://t.co/AsrtC6Xto7@USAttyPirro @FBIWFO pic.twitter.com/tUrOFl51xe

— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) July 2, 2025

The first step of the crypto scam took place on December 24, when the foiled victim was sent an email purportedly originating from the co-chair of the committee, Steve Witkoff. The fraudsters employed a domain that replaced the lowercase letter i with a lowercase l as a way of giving the email an authentic look. The post requested the donor to donate to the campaign via a cryptocurrency wallet. The victim wired 250,300 USDT to the wallet two days later, believing that it was an official request. After a two-hour period, the money was transferred to another crypto address.

Scam Used Deceptive Address and Laundered Stolen Funds

The crypto scam deceived the donor using a visually misleading typo in the email address. The scammer used a domain, @t47lnaugural.com, that substituted an i with an l, which looked the same in most fonts. The scammer then instructed the victim to transfer crypto to a wallet. The transaction was settled on December 26, and the scammers soon transferred the money to multiple wallets.

Blockchain analysis tools allowed the FBI to track down the stolen funds. This resulted in the recovery of 40,300 USDT.ETH. Tether assisted in the freezing and transfer. The Department of Justice thanked the company for supporting law enforcement in this case. They also acknowledged Tether’s past cooperation in recovering $225 million in a separate crypto fraud case last month.

FBI Assistant Director Steven Jensen warned that email scams continue to cause major financial losses. He encouraged people to check email domains carefully before sending any money. He also advised against transferring cryptocurrency to anyone they do not know or trust. U.S. prosecutors confirmed that the scammer is based in Nigeria. However, they have not announced any arrests at this time. The investigation is still active.

Crypto Donations Raise Concerns Around Scam Risks

The scam followed Donald Trump’s announcement that his 2024 campaign would accept cryptocurrency donations. His team had created a fundraising page in May that accepts multiple tokens. This legitimacy may have assisted scammers in making their emails appear more authentic. According to specialists, any political campaign that adopts crypto should consider the emergence of crypto fraud risks. Fraudsters can attempt to exploit the confidence of people and big events. In a separate case, the DOJ moved to seize $225 million linked to a large-scale pig butchering crypto scam that defrauded thousands of victims globally.