Security

DC AG sues Bitcoin ATM operator Athena Bitcoin for allegedly exploiting scam victims

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September 9, 2025

Brian L. Schwalb, attorney general for Washington, D.C., has filed a lawsuit against bitcoin ATM operator Athena Bitcoin Inc. for allegedly financially exploiting residents.

The lawsuit claims 93% of all deposits made to Athena Bitcoin ATMs were fraudulent in the past five months and that it did not, "disclose excessive fees."

Athena has seven bitcoin ATMs within Washington, D.C. The lawsuit is claiming the company violated the Consumer Protection Procedures Act and Abuse, Neglect, and Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults and the Elderly Act by failing to prevent bitcoin ATM scams and its fee and refund policy.

"Once the fraud is discovered, Athena has given consumers no recourse to recover their funds. Athena has systematically told scam victims that all their money is unrecoverable even while Athena has retained up to 26% of the scam as a fee, which could be easily returned," the lawsuit states. "Exacerbating these problems, Athena has misrepresented its refund policy in every direction — imposing a no refunds policy in its Terms of Service while arbitrarily capping the fee refunds when victims diligently force the issue."

The median age of victims was 71 with a median transaction loss of $8,000, according to the lawsuit. It alleges Athena Bitcoin does not clearly disclose the fee amount on its ATMs or website, save for a Transaction Service Margin, " which is buried deep within a 700+ word wall of text that is only accessible by scrolling the BTMs' digital interface."

The lawsuit is asking for the court to disclose transaction fees, put in place fraud prevention measures, remove its no refund, and refund cap policies, pay damages and civil penalties of $10,000 for each violation of the Financial Exploitation Act and $5,000 for each violation of the CPPA.

At the time of the writing of this story, Athena Bitcoin has not responded to a request for ATM Marketplace for comment.

Bitcoin ATMs have been under significant pressure due to the rise of scams. Most recently, Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois signed two bills regulating cryptocurrency and bitcoin ATMs.