The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched legal action to seize digital assets linked to a Nigerian man, Ehiremen Aigbokhan, accused of masterminding a crypto fraud scheme that intercepted funds meant for the 2025 inauguration of former US President Donald Trump.
Mr Aigbokhan, based in Lagos, is currently wanted by US authorities for his alleged role in a criminal conspiracy that defrauded a US donor of over 250,000 USDT (a dollar-pegged cryptocurrency), roughly valued at over ₦460 million at current black market rates.
According to court filings seen by Peoples Gazette, Mr Aigbokhan and his collaborators used a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam to deceive a political donor into sending money to cryptocurrency wallets under their control. The scam was reportedly carried out in the weeks leading up to Mr Trump’s swearing-in, scheduled for 20 January 2025.
The fraudsters created fake email accounts resembling the official address of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee to trick unsuspecting supporters. On 26 December 2024, one such email—@t47lnaugural.com—was sent to a victim, closely mimicking the real email address @t47inaugural.com used by Steve Wiktoff, co-chair of the committee.
The victim, believing the request was genuine, transferred 250,300 USDT.ETH to the criminals. Within days, the perpetrators moved over 215,000 USDT.ETH into various cryptocurrency wallets. However, the FBI, having detected the suspicious activity, swiftly alerted Tether—the crypto company behind the token—who froze the implicated accounts on 31 December.
Subsequent investigations traced the scam’s proceeds to a Binance account registered in the name of Mr Aigbokhan. Notably, the account had no prior transaction history until the scam funds were received. Further digital footprints, including email logins and IP addresses, were consistently traced to Lagos.
Records also revealed that Mr Aigbokhan opened the Binance account in October 2024, two months before the fraud. Investigators were able to recover 20,017 USDT.ETH from his personal wallet and an additional 20,336 USDT.ETH from another associated wallet address, totalling over ₦60 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Blaylock Jr, who filed the civil forfeiture application in the District of Columbia, has asked the court to formally declare the funds forfeited.
The FBI says efforts are ongoing to obtain an arrest warrant for Mr Aigbokhan, who is expected to face charges related to wire fraud, identity theft, and money laundering.
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