Companies are creating branded products like checkbooks, coins, and commemorative currency emblazoned with Donald Trump’s likeness and name, with the promise that eventually these products will be able to be cashed in for huge amounts of money in exchange for loyalty toward the former president.
These “Trump Bucks,” as NBC referred to them, have been popping up from companies in Colorado called Patriots Dynasty, Patriots Future, and USA Patriots. Under the guise of being involved with former President Trump, these companies have scammed people out of thousands.
Pitch videos pop up on social media platforms like Telegram or YouTube explaining that if Trump becomes president again, he would introduce a new currency platform, or reward people who held firm with their “loyalty” during the Biden administration, and could cash in these products for real wealth.
That, obviously, is not true, but real people are now out of thousands of dollars after being duped.
“There’s no way to cash out what I have,” one customer, aged 77, told NBC News.
Some of former President Trump’s most fervent supporters are being swindled into investing thousands in “Trump Bucks” that promise riches once cashed in.
Instead, they’re receiving memorabilia that no bank will cash. https://t.co/DOie6GYkSV
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 2, 2024
What they end up with are products like check books representing the “Trump Rebate banking System,” or TRB on the checks. There’s also a TRB membership card which says it’s “issued by Donald Trump;” and a $10,000 Diamond Trump Bucks bill, which the sites say purchasers will be able to cash in at places like Walmart, Costco, and Home Depot in the future. Those cost $99.99.
These companies, whose websites are now no longer operational, reportedly included small print spelling out that the products were purely novelty items, not actual currency, but people still fell for the scam thanks to videos insinuating partnership with Trump.
“TRB system membership cards are official cards issued by Donald Trump to allow Trump Bucks holders to use Trump Bucks as legal tender and deposit them in banks such as JP Morgan Chase, the Bank of America, and Wells Fargo,” one AI-generated YouTube video said, albeit after saying “Trump sucks are not legal tender.”
“I saw all these ads on Telegram that had Trump pushing coins and checks that he had endorsed, and how you can cash them in after a year and make profit,” one customer from Mobile, AL, told NBC. “I was told how you can go to Bank of America or Target or Amazon to cash them in.”
She took the $1,500 worth of Trump Bucks and coins she had purchased and drove to a Bank of America in Pensacola, FL.
“When we get there the lady tells me she’s seen dozens of people coming in to cash these checks, and they have nothing to do with this,” she said.
NBC found that at least one fraud complaint has been filed through the Federal Trade Commission against Patriots Dynasty in January, but didn’t have any more details about the complaint. The Better Business Bureau currently lists the three companies with an “F” rating.
And, obviously, banks like Wells Fargo and companies like Home Depot responded to NBC requests for comment by saying they have no affiliation with any of this, and that the items cannot be exchanged for real money.
Unfortunately, a lot of the people who managed to purchase the products while the sites were operational, or will continue to buy them as they pop up elsewhere, might not have figured out that they’ve been scammed yet, since the scam is based around the idea that customers can cash in if Trump becomes president again.
“If this is indeed a scam, the victims have not had enough time to realize the Yahveh been scammed, as they will be awaiting the result of the 2024 presidential elections to receive the benefit of their initial outlay of money,” a former FBI agent and professor of criminal justice at University of New Haven told NBC News.
These three companies in question are reportedly all part of Shipoffers.com, an Aurora, Colorado-based shipping center. Its warehouse manager, Josh Pier, said that the company does indeed ship the Trump Bucks products, but doesn’t manufacture them. He wouldn’t disclose who does, or go into any further detail about the products or their intended purpose.
