November 5, 2026 | Blog
Holding Companies Accountable for Tech–Enabled Fraud
By Secretary Rohit Chopra
This week, California ordered CoinFlip, one of the biggest cryptocurrency ATM companies in the state, to pay over $4.8 million to California scam victims after it failed to sufficiently protect them from fraud and violated state and federal law. California's action secured full restitution, making the victims whole.
CoinFlip, reportedly the world's largest network of cryptocurrency ATMs by transaction volume, operates around 500 kiosks in California, typically located in gas stations, grocery stores, and convenience stores. Because transactions are immediate, hard to track, and cannot be reversed, crypto ATMs like those in CoinFlip's network have become the tool of choice for fraudsters looking to exploit consumers — especially older Americans.
An investigation by California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation found that, over the past five years, CoinFlip failed to detect, prevent, report, and mitigate suspicious activity, paving the way for scammers to exploit Californians and steal their hard–earned money. California concluded that CoinFlip committed multiple violations of state and federal laws which exist expressly to protect California consumers using crypto kiosks.
California's order is an important step to stop crime, protect consumers, and ensure that crypto companies follow the law. More broadly, it is the latest example of our work to ensure new technology actually helps people, rather than driving up prices or opening the doors to fraud — a key priority of California's consumer watchdog agency.
As federal regulators give a free pass to crimes against consumers, California continues to chart a different path. While consumers can no longer rely on federal regulators to protect them, we are doubling down to ensure that new technology does not turbocharge fraud and that bad actors are held accountable.
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