ATM Operator Athena Bitcoin Profits From Elderly Scams, Alleges DC Attorney General

Washington, D.C., Lawyer Basic Brian L. Schwalb unveiled a lawsuit in opposition to Athena Bitcoin, Inc., on Monday, accusing the Bitcoin ATM operator of persistently ignoring scams concentrating on aged residents and failing to reveal extreme charges.

The agency, which operates 4,100 Bitcoin ATMs in 5 international locations, was charged with two counts of violating the Shopper Safety Procedures Act by misleading and unfair commerce practices. Athena was additionally charged with the monetary exploitation of susceptible adults and the aged.

Athena’s inventory, which trades over-the-counter, rose 8.5% to $0.02 on Monday, in line with Yahoo Finance. The corporate’s inventory value has plummeted 83% year-to-date.

Decrypt has reached out to Athena for remark.



Bitcoin ATMs permit prospects to change money for crypto, and they’re regularly utilized by scammers as a technique to acquire payouts from victims due to the irreversible nature of crypto transactions. Their targets usually know little about how cryptocurrencies work. 

In its first 5 months of operation throughout the nation’s capitol, 93% of funds deposited into Athena’s kiosks have been “the product of outright fraud,” in line with a 30-page criticism. In 2023, People reported $189 million in losses from scams involving Bitcoin ATMs to the FBI.

Some crypto exchanges cost customers as a lot as a 3% payment to purchase Bitcoin, however Schwalb’s lawsuit alleges that prospects in D.C. have been charged charges of as much as 26%, “with out ever disclosing these charges to the patron.”

“Athena’s markup is hidden inside a fee-inclusive value that Athena misleadingly shows because the ‘change charge,’” the lawsuit claims, noting that the payment isn’t talked about on Athena’s web site.

In a single occasion, a sufferer was allegedly charged as if Bitcoin was buying and selling at $80,300 per Bitcoin, when the asset was altering palms at about $60,000. That meant a scammer walked away with round $7,500 from a prospects’ transaction, whereas Athena pocketed $2,500 in charges. 

Receipts from Athena machines moreover don’t itemize charges, allegedly leaving “shoppers with no clear concept of the exorbitant markup they have been charged.” The prosecutor decided that the payment Athena fees really will increase, allegedly, in relation to a buyer’s order measurement.

Though Athena charged prospects charges, it allegedly instructed prospects that refunds aren’t out there. If one was supplied, it was allegedly capped at $7,500—and prospects are required to signal a confidential launch that frees Athena from future authorized legal responsibility.

Schwalb’s lawsuit echoes the strain between Bitcoin ATM operators like Bitcoin Depot and native regulation enforcement. Authorities have resorted to brute drive in some instances to retrieve victims’ funds from kiosks, just for courts to find out that the corporate is entitled to maintain the money. 

In two instances determined earlier than the Iowa Supreme Court docket this yr, judges cited distinguished rip-off warnings on Bitcoin Depot’s kiosks. In addition they pointed to a piece within the agency’s phrases and companies, the place prospects should say they personal the pockets receiving Bitcoin.

Athena requires prospects to test related packing containers. However Schwalb argued that the language displayed on Athena’s kiosks doesn’t make a distinction, particularly when scammers hold victims on the cellphone and inform them to disregard it.

“Aged rip-off victims standing terror-stricken in fuel stations, pockets stuffed with uncomfortable quantities of money, don’t perceive what it means to ‘generate’ a cryptocurrency pockets or have their very own ‘private Bitcoin pockets,’” it argues.

“The fast prompts, wordy warnings, and lengthy, sophisticated authorized disclaimers that Athena makes use of at its BTMs exacerbate the confusion and strain that scammers create for his or her victims,” the lawsuit continues.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) known as on Bitcoin ATM operators to clamp down on illicit exercise in opposition to the aged final yr, amongst different progressive lawmakers. Some conservatives have in the meantime proposed placing them in federal buildings to encourage training.