Marine Corps veteran loses $2,500 to AI-generated Golden Eagles scam on Telegram

Summary

A Marine Corps veteran from Pittsburg, California, lost $2,500 after purchasing 324 collectible "Golden Eagles" based on AI-generated videos of Donald Trump, Bank of America’s CEO, and Elon Musk promoting the scam. The scam promised that the $59 coins could be traded at Bank of America for over $100,000 each, leading the victim to believe he could become a millionaire. The videos, viewed on Telegram, falsely claimed the coins were genuine and backed by Trump and major corporations. Experts confirmed the coins contained no gold or silver, being mostly copper and other base metals. The victim later returned some of the coins and received a partial refund of about $600 from his credit card processor for recent purchases. Bank of America and Tesla have both denied any involvement in the scam.