A viral post making the rounds on social media claims that a Nigerian “Yahoo boy” (internet fraudster) scammed former U.S. President Donald Trump out of $250,000 meant for his 2025 inauguration. Sounds wild, right? Well, let’s break it down, and separate fact from internet fiction.
What Actually Happened?
Yes, a scam involving $250,300 in cryptocurrency did occur, but Trump was not the victim.
Instead, a donor who wanted to contribute to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee was duped by a spoofed email that impersonated the event’s co-chair. The fake email domain looked almost identical to the real one:
- Real: @t47inaugural.com
- Fake: @t47lnaugural.com (with a sneaky lowercase “L” replacing an “I”)
Where Did the Money Go?
The funds were moved through various crypto wallets and traced to a Binance account tied to a Nigerian suspect named Ehiremen Aigbokhan. The FBI has now filed a civil forfeiture complaint to recover part of the money — around $40,300 so far.
Was Trump Scammed?
No. Trump did not lose any personal funds and was not directly involved. His name and event were used as bait, but he wasn’t the one who got conned. The real victim was the donor who fell for the scam.
Final Verdict:
Trump was not personally defrauded, the victim was a private donor tricked by an impersonation scheme. Social media headlines exaggerating the story aren’t telling the full truth.
Stay sharp out there. Scammers are getting smarter — but so can we.
