Federal authorities have successfully recovered more than $40,000 in stolen cryptocurrency from a sophisticated scam targeting potential donors to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. The elaborate scheme involved criminals impersonating Steve Witkoff, the committee’s Co-Chair, using carefully crafted spoofed email addresses that replaced the letter “l” with “i” in the domain name to create @t47lnaugural.com instead of the legitimate @t47inaugural.com. Victims received convincing phishing messages on December 24, 2024, requesting cryptocurrency donations, leading one victim to transfer $250,300 in USDT.ETH two days later, believing they were supporting the inaugural committee. The stolen funds were quickly laundered through multiple wallet addresses within just two hours of the initial theft.
The Department of Justice specifically praised Tether’s cooperation in facilitating the recovery of the stolen assets, highlighting a growing trend of collaboration between cryptocurrency companies and federal law enforcement agencies. This partnership comes as Tether has been making significant strides in the stablecoin market, with its USDT token gaining substantial ground against competitor USDC throughout 2025. According to BitPay data, Tether’s market share in stablecoin transactions jumped from just 13% in January 2024 to 43% by May 2025, while USDC’s dominance dropped from 85% to 56% during the same period. By March 2025, USDT began processing over 70% of stablecoin volume on BitPay, indicating strong merchant and customer preference for Tether’s offering.
The successful recovery operation demonstrates the effectiveness of blockchain investigation techniques that allow law enforcement to trace cryptocurrency movements across multiple wallets and exchanges. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro filed the civil forfeiture complaint for the recovered 40,353 USDT.ETH, emphasizing the importance of verification before making any cryptocurrency transfers. FBI Assistant Director Steven J. Jensen warned that impersonation scams cost Americans billions annually and stressed the critical need for careful verification of email addresses, website URLs, and message authenticity before responding to any financial requests.
This case serves as a stark reminder of the sophisticated tactics employed by cryptocurrency scammers and the importance of due diligence in digital transactions. Law enforcement agencies strongly recommend never sending money, gift cards, or cryptocurrency to unknown individuals contacted solely through online or phone interactions. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center provides reporting mechanisms for suspected crypto scam activity, including business email compromise, romance scams, and investment fraud schemes. Tether’s proactive involvement in this recovery effort signals positive industry momentum toward supporting victims and working with authorities to combat cryptocurrency-related crimes through legitimate legal channels.
