Chinese authorities have taken custody of Chen Zhi, the businessman at the center of what U.S. officials describe as one of the largest crypto scam and money laundering operations ever uncovered. The move places the alleged kingpin behind a multibillion-dollar “pig butchering” network directly into China’s criminal justice system,

Bitcoin ATMs were supposed to make digital money as easy as grabbing cash from a corner machine. Instead, they have become one of the fastest growing tools for fraud, with the FBI now tying them to a record $333 million in losses in a single year.

Chen Zhi, chairman of Prince Group, was arrested by law enforcement officials in Cambodia and extradited to China, government officials said.

Police investigations have found that local Bitcoin ATMs have collected several hundred thousand dollars from scam victims. Police remind residents not to accept Bitcoin, gift cards, or wire transfers for any reason. They emphasized that no legitimate arrest warrant can be resolved through payment.

The FBI says fraudsters in 2025 bilked Americans out of more than $333 million with ruses perpetrated using bitcoin ATM machines.

According to the FBI, scammers caused nearly $250 million in losses in 2024, and from January through November 2025, that figure rose to $333 million.

The state office that oversees consumer finance protection has come to an agreement with a cryptocurrency operator that will help recover nearly $2 million that was scammed from Mainers. On Monday, the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection announced in a news release that it entered into a consent agreement with Bitcoin Depot,

Bitcoin Depot has agreed to refund money that was taken through its kiosks by third-party scammers who defrauded Maine consumers.

Bitcoin Depot agreed to a $1.9M settlement with Maine after regulators accused its crypto ATMs of enabling scams.

Some Grubhub users have received a tempting email offer from the food delivery service: send $1,000 in bitcoin to a specified wallet, and get 10 times that amount back. Unfortunately, this is very much a scam.

One of the country's top cryptocurrency kiosk vendors has agreed to pay the state of Maine nearly $2 million as part of a settlement to compensate victims of fraud, the state announced on Monday. Bitcoin Depot,