Lagos Yahoo Boy Scams Trump’s 2025 Inauguration Funds in $250K Crypto Fraud
In an astonishing case that has sparked international attention, a Nigerian cyber fraudster identified as Ehiremen Aigbokhan is currently under investigation by the FBI for allegedly defrauding the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee of over \$250,000 intended for the 2025 U.S. presidential inauguration. The scheme, which unfolded in late December 2024, involved a Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack — a type of cyber fraud where hackers mimic trusted emails to deceive victims. In this case, Aigbokhan cleverly altered the official email address of the Trump-Vance Committee by replacing the capital letter “I” with a lowercase “l” (a nearly unnoticeable character swap), tricking a donor into transferring funds to what appeared to be the legitimate account.
The donor, convinced by the impersonated communications, proceeded to send 250,300 USDT.ETH (a U.S. Dollar-pegged stablecoin on the Ethereum blockchain), valued at over ₦400 million. Once received, Aigbokhan quickly moved the stolen cryptocurrency across multiple digital wallets in an effort to cover his tracks. However, the FBI acted swiftly by collaborating with Tether, the issuing company behind USDT, to freeze the stolen assets. On December 31, 2024, law enforcement managed to trace the funds to specific wallet addresses, including 20,017 USDT.ETH in Aigbokhan’s personal wallet and another 20,336 USDT.ETH linked to a separate wallet address—amounting to nearly ₦60 million on the black market.
Following these findings, the FBI filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit in the U.S. District Court to seize the crypto assets, while also requesting an arrest warrant for Aigbokhan. Digital forensics traced the criminal activity to IP addresses in Lagos and further linked the operation to a Binance account registered in Aigbokhan’s name back in October 2024. Charges leveled against him include wire fraud and money laundering, and U.S. authorities are expected to pursue extradition. The incident has raised serious questions about cybersecurity vulnerabilities in political fundraising, particularly around high-profile events like presidential inaugurations. It also underscores the growing global need for stronger digital security cooperation to combat cross-border cybercrime.
