A new investigation reveals how celebrity backed crypto projects funneled billions to insiders while retail investors faced staggering losses.

In January 2025, the cryptocurrency fever was sweeping the markets, and Donald J. Trump was preparing to return to the White House. When Fatime Elrgdawy learned of an online post urging the elected U.S. president to launch his own cryptocurrency, she thought, “Oh my God, this is brilliant.”

If Trump put his name behind the project, Elrgdawy believed it would be legitimate investment.

A 29-year-old engineer from Santa Barbara, California, investing $2,000 of her savings in the meme coin $TRUMP – a purely speculative token whose value often depends on social-media hype – expected…