Cryptocurrency Fraud Case Linked to Donald Trump’s Network
In a recent cryptocurrency fraud case associated with Donald Trump’s network, a court docket was mistakenly sealed but was quickly reopened after the error was recognized. Jeanine Pirro, the interim U.S. Attorney for the region, stated that the sealing occurred due to a clerical mistake by court clerks, not a directive from prosecutors.
“We never intended for the docket to be sealed,”
she explained to the media outlet NOTUS, emphasizing that the issue was rectified within hours of its discovery.
Details of the Scam
The case at hand involves a Nigerian scammer who reportedly defrauded individuals of $250,000 by masquerading as Steve Witkoff, the co-chair of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. Notably, those targeted were executives from MoonPay, a cryptocurrency platform closely linked to Trump’s operations, which provides the facility to purchase digital currencies through conventional payment methods. MoonPay had previously operated as the primary gateway for acquiring President Trump’s TRUMP meme coin, recording an astonishing 1,023% surge in first-time on-chain transactions during the coin’s launch week in January.
The scam unfolded on Christmas Eve when the perpetrator utilized a subtle typographical error, substituting a lowercase ‘i’ with a lowercase ‘l’, leading to a misleading communication that convinced victims to transfer a considerable sum of 250,300 USDT.ETH days later. Two victims mentioned in the court filings were identified only as “Ivan” and “Mouna”, names shared by MoonPay’s CEO Ivan Soto-Wright and CFO Mouna Ammari Siala, raising questions about confidentiality and privacy. The crypto wallet implicated was connected to Soto-Wright, further intensifying scrutiny over the case.
Legal and Investigative Developments
In addition, Pirro noted that the decision to seal the original complaint was motivated by the need to protect the identity of a specific company involved in the case, revealing that an amended filing was intended to exclude certain names from public view. The unusual move to briefly seal the entire docket has raised eyebrows among seasoned legal professionals. One former assistant U.S. attorney speculated that the actions taken suggested a level of panic regarding the initial blunder.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been active in tracing the blockchain movements involved in the fraud, successfully recovering 40,300 USDT.ETH of the lost assets with support from Tether, the issuer of the stablecoin, who aided in freezing the misappropriated digital currency. Mark Hays, a crypto regulation advocate with Americans for Financial Reform, remarked on the complexities surrounding connections to Trump and the seeming expedited recovery of assets for those linked to him. Both MoonPay and the Department of Justice are yet to provide statements regarding the ongoing developments.
