BOISE, Idaho — A retired Idaho couple has filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Bitcoin Depot Inc., alleging the cryptocurrency ATM operator's network enabled scammers to drain their entire $76,000 retirement savings over five days in August 2025 through a sophisticated social engineering scheme.

Karen and Robert Lacey filed the complaint on May 11, 2026, in U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho (Case No. 1:26-cv-00288-DKG), accusing Bitcoin Depot of processing suspicious high-value cash deposits without adequate intervention despite clear red flags. The suit claims the company profited from fraud while failing to protect vulnerable customers using its machines.

According to the 43-page filing, fraudsters posing as Norton customer service representatives and FBI agents convinced the Laceys that their accounts were linked to child pornography and illegal gambling investigations. The scammers instructed the couple to deposit large sums of cash at Bitcoin Depot ATMs between August 9 and August 13, 2025. To bolster the deception, the perpetrators allegedly caused wireless networks labeled "FBI" to appear on the couple's phones — signals that reportedly remained visible for months afterward.

The lawsuit alleges Bitcoin Depot processed each transaction "without meaningful intervention," despite the unusual pattern of first-time users making large cash deposits while actively speaking with unknown parties on the phone. The company charges transaction fees as high as 50 percent, and the plaintiffs describe its on-screen warning stickers as "demonstrably ineffective."

After their son filed a federal crime complaint, Bitcoin Depot issued two $1,000 refund checks — an amount the lawsuit states did not even cover the fees collected by the company. Karen Lacey, already retired at the time of........

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