A Lagos-based fraudster, Ehiremen Aigbokhan, has been implicated in a sophisticated cryptocurrency scam that siphoned over ₦460 million meant for U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize assets linked to Aigbokhan and is pursuing an arrest warrant for his role in a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme targeting a donor to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.
According to court documents, Aigbokhan and his accomplices used fake email addresses to impersonate the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.
One such email, sent on December 26, 2024, from @t47lnaugural.com, mimicked the legitimate @t47inaugural.com, deceiving a victim into transferring 250,300 USDT.ETH, valued at over ₦400 million at the black market rate, was sent to the fraudsters’ cryptocurrency wallets.
The FBI’s investigation revealed that the perpetrators quickly dispersed 215,000 USDT.ETH across multiple crypto wallets.
However, Tether, a cryptocurrency operator, froze the accounts on December 31, 2024, after the FBI’s intervention.
Digital forensics traced the scam’s email accounts and transactions to Lagos, with IP addresses linking directly to Aigbokhan. His Binance account, opened in October 2024, received transfers from the scam wallet with no prior deposits.
The FBI has seized 20,017 USDT.ETH from Aigbokhan’s wallet and 20,336 USDT.ETH from another account, totaling over ₦60 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Blaylock Jr. is seeking court approval for the forfeiture of these funds.
