A Tunisian woman is facing trial in the United States for allegedly scamming her American ex-partner out of more than $800,000 in TrumpCoin cryptocurrency.
Maissa Jebali, 22, is accused of transferring the funds from Anthony Bravo’s digital wallet and using his credit cards for a lavish shopping spree, after he fell asleep mid-conversation about the future of their crumbling relationship.
“When I woke up, she was gone”, Bravo told local media. Â
What he did not realise, until he checked his phone, was that she had allegedly transferred $850,000 worth of TrumpCoin—a meme coin associated with US President Donald Trump—from his digital wallet to hers.
By the time he grasped what had happened, Jebali had also allegedly used his credit cards to book a $4,000 stay at an Airbnb and embark on a $14,000 shopping spree. Â
Jebali, a Tunisian national, was arrested last week at the Yotel Miami and charged with grand theft in the third degree and credit card fraud.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken her into custody, moving her to the Richwood Correctional Centre in Louisiana, where she faces possible deportation. Â
Jebali, who was in the US on a student (F1) visa, met Bravo at a Miami lounge last year. Their romance, which lasted about six months, “was marked by dinner dates and yacht cruises,” recalls her ex-partner.
However, tensions flared earlier this month when, according to Miami-Dade County records, the two got into a verbal dispute aboard Bravo’s yacht. Â
Determined to track her down, Bravo hired a private investigator and reported the alleged theft to Miami police. Now, he says he wants justice and, at the very least, to ensure that Jebali remains in the US long enough to face prosecution. Â
“If she gets deported, she still has access to my crypto”, he told local media. Â
Christopher Schisani, Jebali’s attorney, said that while his client’s immigration status is in jeopardy, her criminal case will likely take precedence over any deportation proceedings. Â
“Due to the surrounding circumstances of the criminal case, I believe it is highly unlikely she will be deported during the pendency of her criminal case,” he told The New Arab.
Whether Jebali stands trial in the US or is sent back to Tunisia remains uncertain. Even if she does return home, the legal ramifications of her alleged crime are unclear.
Tunisia, which has been slowly opening up to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, has no specific laws addressing crypto theft—particularly of a meme asset like TrumpCoin. Â
