Federal prosecutors took $ 40,300 to cryptocurrency recovered from an email scam that pretended to be the inaugural committee, according to a complaint filed by US lawyer Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
The scheme has tricking a donor on sending $ 250,300 USDT worth (USDT) Stablecoin to Ethereum Blockchain to scammers posing as Committee officials, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on a news Wednesday.
Scammers sent an email on December 24, 2024, which appeared to have come from Steve Witkoff, co-chair of the Inaugural Trump-Vance committee. The fake email used Domain @T47LNaugural.com, changing a little “L” for an “I” to deceive the recipient.
The belief that the request was legitimate, the victim moved the funds two days to a crypto wallet controlled by scammers. The stolen funds are rapidly -launder through many cryptocurrency wallets.
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The FBI got $ 40,000 of stolen funds
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been able to monitor and recover $ 40,300 of the stolen USDT by examining the blockchain. The prosecutors seek to return these possession of the victim through a civilian revolt action.
“Impersonation scams take many forms and cost American billions -billions of losses each year,” said Assistant Director in charge of Steven Jensen of the FBI Washington Field Office. He urged the public to check the addresses of the sender email and never send crypto to unknown contacts, adding:
“Scammers often use a subtle difference to deceive you and get your trust. Don’t send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other ownership to people you don’t know personally or just contact online or on the phone.”
In May 2024, Donald Trump announced his campaign to the president Receive cryptocurrency donations through Coinbase Commerce. She is launched An official fundraising page that supports Bitcoin (Btc), Ether (Eth), Dogecoin (Doge), Shiba Inu (Shib), XRP (XRP), USDC (USDC), Solana (Sol) and other cryptocurrencies.
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DOJ’s credit for its help
The DOJ identified Tether for its role in helping to occupy the stolen funds. The company helped enforce the freezing law and transfer frozen properties.
In June, the federal agency also recognized Seize about $ 225 million In the USDT tied to a massive “pork avoidance” scam that deceives victims in many countries.
In an incident in May, the DOJ filed a civil complaint forfeiture to Seize more than $ 24 million in crypto From the Russian National Rustam Gallyamov, who is accused of developing Qakbot Malware.
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