US ATM operator has been accused of aiding fraud

Key points:

• The Washington Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against Athena Bitcoin.
• The company charged customers a hidden fee of up to 26% per transaction.
• The average age of the victims is 71, and the average loss per transaction is $8000.

The Washington, D.C. Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against crypto ATM operator Athena Bitcoin. The lawsuit alleges that the company profits from fraudulent transactions and charges hidden fees for deposits. According to Attorney General Brian Schwalb, 93% of the funds deposited in the first five months of operation belonged to victims of scammers:

“Athena knows that its machines are being used primarily by scammers yet chooses to look the other way so that it can continue to pocket sizable hidden transaction fees.

The FBI reports that in 2024, there were nearly 11 000 complaints of ATM fraud, with losses exceeding $246 million. Thirteen US states, including Arizona, Colorado, and Michigan, have imposed transaction limits to reduce the potential damage from cryptocurrency ATM fraud.

Athena profits from hidden fees

In its lawsuit, Schwalb’s agency claimed that Athena charged customers a fee of up to 26% per transaction without disclosing it at any stage of the process. Prosecutors believe that Athena misled users by referring to a “transaction service margin” in its Terms of Service, where the word “fee” was not mentioned.

From May to September 2024, Athena “pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed fees. The victims of the fraud were mostly elderly people: the average age of the victims was 71, and the average loss per transaction was $8000.

According to CoinATMRadar, there are currently 26 850 crypto ATMs installed in the United States. Bitcoin Depot remains the leader with 27,6%, followed by CoinFlip (13,6%) and Athena (13%).

Source: coinatmradar.com

Earlier, the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) urged institutions to be vigilant about transactions involving cryptocurrency ATMs.