In a case that has shocked international law enforcement and stirred up diplomatic interest, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Reportedly, The FBI has filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize property belonging to Lagos-based fraudster Ehiremen Aigbokhan after being accused of orchestrating a cryptocurrency scam bagging over ₦460 million ($250,000) meant for Donald Trump’s 2025 presidential inauguration.
Apparently, According to U.S. district court documents, Aigbokhan and his associates used a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme to impersonate officials from the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.
They reportedly created fake email addresses that closely resembled that of one Steve Witkoff, a real estate executive and co-chair of the event, to deceive a donor.
Court documents seen by PM News indicate that the perpetrators created spoofed email addresses nearly identical to those of actual officials on the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.
In one notable instance, a fraudulent email address—@t47lnaugural.com—was used to impersonate the co-chair of the committee, Steve Witkoff, whose legitimate email ends with @t47inaugural.com.
Subsequently, On December 26, 2024, Ehiremen Aigbokhan successfully tricked the said donor into transferring 250,300 USDT worth of Etherum — a form of cryptocurrency — which was valued at over ₦400 million at the time the transaction took place.
Afterwards, The stolen funds were quickly dispersed across several digital wallets, with 215,000 USDT
The FBI, with the cooperation of the cryptocurrency firm Tether, identified the fraudulent activity and froze the affected accounts on December 31.
Apparently, One Ehiremen Aigbokhan was traced to Lagos, Nigeria, prompting a full-scale investigation by U.S. authorities.
Aigbokhan is also wanted for his involvement in broader cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering operations.
