DOJ Filing Potentially Identifies MoonPay CEO and CFO as Victims in Crypto Scam

A recent Department of Justice (DOJ) filing, seeking to seize stolen crypto funds, may have inadvertently revealed the names of two high-profile victims: MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright and CFO Mouna Ammari Siala.

The filing details a fraud case involving $250,300 in USDT, which was allegedly sent to a wallet believed to belong to real estate executive Steve Witkoff but was, according to Binance records cited in the DOJ's case, controlled by a Nigerian national, Ehiremen Aigbokhan.

The court document identifies the victims only as "Ivan" and "Mouna," but these names and their titles appear to match those of MoonPay's top executives. Further supporting this connection, on-chain data from Etherscan lists one of the wallets involved in the transaction as a MoonPay address.

This incident is compounded by a separate 2023 lawsuit that previously linked Soto-Wright to the same wallet in allegations of improper fund transfers to a personal wallet. The scam itself relied on a common phishing tactic, using email addresses that closely resembled those of Donald Trump's inaugural committee, such as "[email protected]" which substituted a lowercase "L" for a capital "I." IP traces during the investigation reportedly led authorities to Nigeria.

MoonPay has not yet issued a public comment on the matter. This development occurs as MoonPay, having recently secured a full BitLicense from New York regulators, is actively expanding its reach across the U.S. Separately, MoonPay recently announced an integration with Revolut Pay, allowing for one-click crypto purchases for users across Europe.

This feature aims to reduce friction in transactions by enabling direct-from-bank crypto purchases using biometric ID or passcodes, bypassing typical card approval or KYC delays. MoonPay stated that this rollout covers over 500 crypto platforms and wallets, with Soto-Wright noting that "Millions of Revolut users can now buy crypto with the payment method they already trust and use every day." Revolut Pay itself is marketed as a one-click online checkout tool that includes built-in fraud protection and instant settlement.