The class action filed in Idaho accuses a bankrupt crypto ATM operator of profiting from fraud while leaving vulnerable consumers unprotected.
An Idaho retiree family has filed a lawsuit against Bitcoin Depot Inc., claiming that the company’s ATMs served as a conduit for thieves who spent their entire retirement savings — $76,000 — on five consecutive days in August 2025.
Karen and Robert Lacey, named the plaintiffs Lacey et al. v. Bitcoin Depot Inc., et al. (Case No. 1:26-cv-00288-DKG)say that hackers posing as Norton customer representatives and FBI agents convinced them that their accounts were linked to child pornography and illegal gambling investigations.
Cheaters control the couple to deposit money at a Bitcoin Depot ATM between August 9 and August 13, 2025. To promote the fraud, the fraudsters caused a wireless network called “FBI” to appear on the Laceys’ phones – signals that remained visible for several months after the deposits.
The 43-page complaint, filed on May 11, 2026, in the US District Court for the District of Idaho, charges that Bitcoin Depot prepared any work “without taking any meaningful action” despite what they call clear warning signs: the first reader to make large deposits of money while on the phone with unknown parties.
The lawsuit also alleges that the company charges up to 50% of each transaction and relies on electronic warning stickers – a protection that the plaintiffs call “useless”.
After Karen and Robert’s son filed a federal complaint, Bitcoin Depot issued two $1,000 refund checks — money the lawsuit alleges didn’t even cover the money the company collected. Karen Lacey, who was retired when the fraud occurred, has returned to work, and is now working on a rotating basis at hospitals.
The complaint mentions Bitcoin Depot’s SEC officials, who say that its operations “can be exploited to facilitate illegal activities such as fraud” and that risk management is “inadequate”.
Information about the Federal Trade Commission show Bitcoin ATM fraud losses increased nearly tenfold between 2020 and 2023, with an average loss of $10,000. By 2025, the FBI reported that Americans would have lost $333 million to Bitcoin ATM fraud — more than 10,000 victims in a single year.
Bitcoin Depot filing for bankruptcy
The case comes in the form of the Bitcoin Depot business site to fall. The company voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 18, 2026, closing its entire network of more than 9,000 ATMs in North America. The company previously revealed $3.6 million in Bitcoin theft from its wallets in March 2026 and reported a 49.2% drop in revenue in Q1 2026.
Plaintiffs seek a jury trial, injunctive relief, punitive damages, back pay, and attorney’s fees.
