The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has recovered $40,300 in Tether (USDT) after scammers posed as officials from the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.
On December 24, 2024, the scammers used a spoofed domain—@t47lnaugural.com—to send a fake email impersonating Steve Witkoff, the committee’s co-chair.
The email tricked a donor into sending $250,300 in USDT on the Ethereum blockchain. The payment went to a wallet controlled by the scammers.
After the transaction, the funds were moved across several crypto wallets to obscure their origin.
Federal prosecutors confirmed the incident in a complaint filed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
FBI Uses Blockchain Tools to Trace and Recover Funds
The FBI Washington Field Office tracked the movement of the funds using blockchain analysis. This led to the recovery of $40,300 in USDT. The DOJ launched a civil forfeiture action to return the seized assets.
Steven Jensen, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI office, said:
“Impersonation scams take many forms and cost Americans billions in losses each year. Scammers often use subtle differences to deceive you and gain your trust. Never send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other assets to people you do not know personally or have only interacted with online or over the phone.”
The scammers relied on a small change in the domain name to mislead the victim. The DOJ confirmed the funds were moved through different addresses to hide their trail.
Tether Assisted in Freezing the USDT During the Investigation
The DOJ credited Tether for helping law enforcement freeze and transfer the recovered assets. The company cooperated with the DOJ to ensure the funds were secured before they could be withdrawn.
In June 2024, the DOJ also recognized Tether’s assistance in seizing $225 million in USDT connected to a global fraud scheme.
Another case from May 2024 involved the seizure of over $24 million in crypto from Rustam Gallyamov, accused of creating the Qakbot malware.
These operations highlight ongoing coordination between crypto platforms and federal agencies in blocking illegal activity.
Trump Campaign Had Opened Crypto Donations in May 2024
In May 2024, Donald Trump’s campaign began accepting crypto donations through Coinbase Commerce.
Supported assets included Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), XRP, Solana (SOL), USDC, and Tether (USDT).
The scammers behind the Trump-Vance email used the committee name and political context to add credibility.
The DOJ clarified the fraud was not linked to the official campaign but used its public association with crypto to mislead the victim.
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