Ehiremen Aigbokhan, a Nigerian national is currently on the radar of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over an alleged N460 million fraud.
The FBI has filed a civil forfeiture complaint against the Nigerian who is accused of stealing over ₦460 million in cryptocurrency intended for the January 2025 inauguration of President Donald Trump.
According to court filings, Aigbokhan allegedly carried out a sophisticated Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam from Lagos, Nigeria, by setting up spoofed email addresses that closely mimicked those of members of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.
Investigators revealed that the scammers impersonated committee co-chair Steve Witkoff by using a lookalike email address that swapped a lowercase “L” for an uppercase “I,” deceiving a donor into transferring 250,300 USDT.ETH, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, on December 26, 2024.
Authorities reported that the funds, worth over ₦400 million at the time, were rapidly dispersed into multiple crypto wallets.
However, by December 31, the FBI, in collaboration with cryptocurrency firm Tether, froze the suspect wallets after spotting suspicious transactions.
Further forensic investigation linked the fraudulent activity to Lagos, with access records connecting the wallet to a Binance account registered by Ehiremen Aigbokhan in October 2024. Officials said the account had no prior activity before receiving the stolen assets.
In total, the FBI recovered 20,017 USDT.ETH from Aigbokhan’s wallet and an additional 20,336 USDT.ETH from a connected wallet, valued together at more than ₦60 million.
The U.S. Department of Justice is now seeking a court order to permanently forfeit the seized digital assets.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Blaylock Jr., who is leading the prosecution, confirmed that Aigbokhan also faces additional charges related to money laundering and wire fraud.
While the FBI has yet to confirm whether extradition proceedings are underway, it described the case as one of the most significant cybercrime operations linked to a U.S. presidential event.
The incident has reignited concerns over cybersecurity in political fundraising, highlighting the growing threat from international cybercriminal networks.
Officials are urging donors and organizations to scrutinize email communications and double-check payment details before authorizing large transactions.