AI-generated deepfakes promoted fake Trump Golden Eagles investment scheme
Deepfake videos posted on Telegram impersonating President Trump, Bank of America's CEO, and Elon Musk promoted counterfeit "Trump Golden Eagles" coins as investment opportunities, convincing victims to purchase worthless base metal coins. A Pittsburg, California man lost $2,500 after buying 324 of the fake coins, believing he could trade them for over $100,000 at Bank of America.
What happened
Fake AI-generated videos posted on Telegram promoted the 'Trump Golden Eagles Project,' claiming the coins could be purchased for $59 and traded for over $100,000 at Bank of America or exchanged for Tesla vehicles.
The deepfake videos impersonated President Donald Trump, Bank of America's CEO, and Elon Musk endorsing the scheme.
A Marine Corps veteran in Pittsburg, California purchased 324 of the coins after viewing the fake videos, believing he would make over $35 million.
Reported impact
Wesley Skelton lost $2,500 purchasing the counterfeit golden eagles and silver coins after being convinced by the deepfake videos.
Testing by a precious metals dealer found the coins contained copper, iron, nickel and trace metals with effectively no silver, and the golden eagles contained base metals, not gold.
Index analysis
The scam exploited deepfake video technology to impersonate trusted public figures and create false credibility for an investment scheme.
Victims were targeted through Telegram and convinced by synthetic media depicting well-known figures vouching for the counterfeit collectibles.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.