Bitcoin Depot Operating’s crypto kiosks charged customers up to 42 percent more than market price and the company profited from consumers being scammed, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, or DFI, said in a statement of charges.
DFI seeks to revoke Bitcoin Depot’s license, prohibit the company and Brandon Taylor Mintz from working in the industry, and order Mintz to pay a fine of $1.5 million.
“This is one of the most significant fines sought by DFI due to the high number and nature of the alleged violations,” DFI Director Charlie Clark said in a statement.
Bitcoin Depot and Mintz can request a hearing to contest DFI’s charges.
DFI’s charges follow an investigation that showed most of the Washington’s consumers who were scammed and lost money by using Bitcoin Depot’s ATMs were over 60 years old.
The charges also allege that Bitcoin Depot didn’t protect consumers against fraud and failed to conduct due diligence until a customer put more than $100,000 in cash into a kiosk. The company also didn’t record all the customer information required by law and didn’t provide customers with the required disclosures about fees in more than 30,000 transactions.
Bitcoin Depot recently filed for bankruptcy. Washington state consumers who have a claim against Bitcoin Depot can file a claim in the bankruptcy case and may submit complaints about crypto kiosk issues on DFI’s online complaint form.
