Abuja, Nigeria – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has unveiled details of a sophisticated cyber fraud operation, allegedly orchestrated by a Nigerian internet fraudster, Ehiremen Aigbokhan, based in Lagos. The scheme reportedly siphoned over N460 million (approximately $250,000 USD) intended for the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in January 2025.
According to a civil forfeiture complaint filed before a U.S. District Court, Aigbokhan masterminded a cryptocurrency-based fraud that exploited vulnerabilities in digital communication systems just weeks before the proposed January 20, 2025 inauguration. The FBI is actively seeking an arrest warrant for Aigbokhan, who faces charges related to money laundering and wire fraud.
Modus Operandi: Business Email Compromise (BEC)
The elaborate scam leveraged a notorious cybercrime tactic known as Business Email Compromise (BEC). Perpetrators created spoofed email addresses meticulously designed to mimic those of actual officials on the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. For instance, a fraudulent email address, @t47lnaugural.com, was used to impersonate Steve Witkoff, the legitimate co-chair of the committee, whose authentic email ends with @t47inaugural.com.
On December 26, 2024, an unsuspecting victim transferred 250,300 USDT.ETH – a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar on the Ethereum blockchain – valued at over N400 million at the time. Following the receipt of the funds, the fraudsters swiftly dispersed 215,000 USDT.ETH to multiple digital wallets in an attempt to obscure the money trail.
FBI Intervention and Tracing the Trail
However, the FBI detected the suspicious transactions in time and, working in coordination with cryptocurrency company Tether, successfully froze the implicated accounts on December 31, 2024.
The FBI’s forensic analysis meticulously traced the origin of the fraudulent emails and wallet activity back to Nigeria, with login IP addresses repeatedly pinpointing Lagos as the central hub of operations. A significant breakthrough occurred when investigators linked the fraudulent wallet to a Binance.com account created by Ehiremen Aigbokhan in October 2024. Records indicate that this same Binance wallet was used to route part of the laundered proceeds from the scam, further cementing Aigbokhan’s role as the key suspect.
The U.S. Department of Justice has already seized 20,017 USDT.ETH from Aigbokhan’s wallet, and an additional 20,336 USDT.ETH from another connected wallet (identified as 0xC7bdBA7ffB126F68E8454), collectively amounting to over N60 million at the prevailing black market rate. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Blaylock Jr., representing the District of Columbia, is petitioning the court to approve the forfeiture of these seized digital assets.
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Authorities have not yet disclosed whether diplomatic channels have been activated to facilitate Aigbokhan’s extradition from Nigeria, but the FBI has confirmed that active steps are underway to apprehend him and any accomplices involved in what is now considered one of the most audacious cybercrime cases linked to a U.S. presidential event.
