Overview

• Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb filed the suit on Sept. 8 against Athena Bitcoin, a large crypto ATM operator.
• Prosecutors allege violations of the Consumer Protection Procedures Act and the District’s elder-exploitation statute.
• Investigators say that during Athena’s first five months in Washington, 93% of kiosk deposits were tied to scams, with internal logs showing 48% self-reported as fraud.
• The filing claims Athena concealed steep fees by embedding them in the displayed exchange rate, with effective charges allegedly as high as 26%.
• Victim data cited includes a median age of 71 and median losses around $8,000, with one person allegedly losing $98,000 across 19 transactions.