The General Prosecutor of the County of Colombia Brian Schwalb sued the ATHENA BITCOIN Operator Operator for failure to combat fraud and the collection of hidden commissions for the introduction of funds.

The Prosecutor General’s Office claims that AThena cryptomats are mainly used for fraud, namely: to withdraw money from the elderly population. People at old age are not very familiar with cryptocurrencies and are less likely to report fraud, Shvalb noted. The prosecutor’s office mentioned the company’s own data in the first five months of work in Columbia:

  • 93% of all deposits in Athena cryptomats were a direct result of fraud;

  • The average age of victims was 71 years;

  • The average amount of losses per fraudulent transaction amounted to about $ 8,000, while one victim transferred a total of $ 98,000 for nineteen transactions, in just a few days.

The lawsuit states that AThena violated the district law on consumer protection procedures and the law on cruelty and financial operation of the elderly. Law enforcement officers also accused the company of illegally receiving profit from hidden commissions: in the AThena cryptomats, a collection of up to 26% per transaction is charged from users, although this is not mentioned at any stage of the translation. In June 2024, Athena added to the conditions of service “margin for transactional services”, but its amount is not disclosed anywhere, the word “commission” is also not indicated anywhere, the prosecutor’s office insists.

“AThena cryptomats have become a tool for criminals trying to see the elderly. Athena knows that its devices are used by scammers, but prefers to close her eyes to this in order to receive large commissions for transactions. We file a lawsuit against the company in order to stop this robbery and return their money to residents of the district with difficulty earned money, ”said Prosecutor General Brian Shvalb.

Last year, a group of Democrats Senators suspected the ten largest cryptomat operators in the assistance of fraud. We are talking about Bitcoin Depot, Coinflip, Rockitcoin, Bitstop, Coinhub, Unbank, Byte Federal, Cash2Bitcoin, Margo, and among them again Athena Bitcoin.