Oregon Warns Crypto Kiosks Are Often Used in Scams After $2.5 Million Settlement With Coinme

Oregon will receive $101,425.34 from a $2.5 million multistate settlement with cryptocurrency company Coinme Inc. over violations of federal anti-money laundering laws.

Following violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering requirements, 34 state financial regulatory agencies- including the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation settled with the Seattle-based cryptocurrency money transmitter and kiosk operator.

Under the agreement, Coinme must also terminate its virtual currency kiosk operations by January 1, 2027. If they don’t, they will face an additional $4 million penalty.

In addition, Coinme must hire an independent consultant to assess its anti-money laundering program, then report those findings to the states within six months. They will then have 12 months to correct any deficiencies identified.

Money coming out of the settlement will be distributed among participating states according to transaction volume.

Oregon regulators warned consumers that cryptocurrency kiosks are frequently associated with scams and other criminal activity. TK Keen, administrator of the Division of Financial Regulation, confirmed that nobody legitimate- like the IRS or a bank- would tell you to feed money into a cryptocurrency kiosk and urged anyone receiving such a demand to stop and contact local law enforcement.

To check whether financial services companies are licensed in Oregon, see the NMLS Consumer Access website. Anyone who suspects fraud can contact the division’s consumer advocates at 888-877-4894 or email [email protected].