Bitcoin Depot, a top crypto ATM vendor, to pay nearly $2M to compensate fraud victims
A photo illustration of a physical gold Bitcoin collectible on December 3,2025, in London, England. (Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)
(MAINE) — 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, which operates more than 25,000 bitcoin ATMs across the country, will pay the state $1.9 million, which represents money “taken by third-party scammers who defrauded Maine consumers through their kiosks.”
Victims of fraud perpetrated using Bitcoin Depot kiosks may apply for compensation from the state. As part of the settlement, Bitcoin Depot admits to no wrongdoing or violation of state or federal laws.
Bitcoin ATMs, which allow users to insert cash and send it to a digital wallet anywhere in the world in only a few minutes, have emerged as scammers’ top go-to method for separating Americans from their cash, according to experts.
In a typical scam, fraudsters will convince their victims that they must make a payment or safeguard their cash by inserting it in a bitcoin ATM. Once the transaction is executed, experts say, the money can be nearly impossible to recover — making it an attractive method for prospective scammers.
In 2025, Americans lost more than $333 million to bitcoin ATM scams, the FBI recently told ABC News, representing a dramatic uptick from prior years.
Maine has taken some of the nation’s most aggressive steps in limiting the proliferation of scams using bitcoin ATMs, including establishing daily deposit limits and capping transaction fees.
A spokesperson for Bitcoin Depot, which currently faces a separate lawsuit in Iowa, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Near-Earth asteroid Apophis is a potentially hazardous asteroid that will safely pass close to Earth on April 13, 2029. It will come about 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) from our planet’s surface — closer than the distance of many satellites in geosynchronous orbit (about 22,236 miles, or 36,000 kilometers, in altitude). (NASA)
(NEW YORK) — A rare asteroid will soon be visible to the naked eye in a rare celestial event, according to astronomers.
Asteroid 99942 Apophis – named after the Egyptian deity of chaos, darkness and fire – is expected to safely pass close to Earth on April 13, 2029, according to NASA.
The asteroid will pass within roughly 20,000 miles of Earth – nearly 12 times closer than the moon’s average distance from Earth, and closer than many satellites in geosynchronous orbit – making it one one of the closest approaches ever recorded for an object if its size and a “very rare event,” according to NASA.
The approach will be visible to observers on the ground in the Eastern Hemisphere, weather permitting, according to NASA. It will be close enough that sky-watchers won’t need a telescope or binoculars to see it, astronomers say.
When Apophis was first discovered in 2004, it was labeled a potentially hazardous asteroid because of the possibility that it could impact Earth in 2029, 2036 or 2068, according to NASA.
After closely tracking the asteroid and its orbit using optical telescopes and ground-based radar, astronomers are now confident that there is no risk of Apophis impacting Earth for at least 100 years.
The Earth’s gravitational pull could change the asteroid’s orbit around the sun as it passes in 2029, making the orbit slightly larger or the orbital period slightly longer, but the risk of impact with Earth will remain the same, NASA says. Its close passage will also afford astronomers around the world the opportunity to learn more about the asteroid.
Apophis is the Greek name for the Egyptian god known as Apep. The name was proposed by the astronomers who discovered the asteroid: Roy Tucker, David Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi of the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona.
The asteroid is a relic of the early solar system from about 4.6 billion years ago, made of leftover raw material that was never part of a planet or moon, according to NASA. Though its exact size and shape is unknown, it has a mean diameter of about 1,115 feet and a long axis of at least 1,480 feet.
Apophis’ surface is weathered due to eons of exposure to space weather, including solar wind and cosmic rays, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Observatories around the world and in space will observe the asteroid’s historic approach to Earth in order to better understand its physical properties.
NASA has redirected a spacecraft to rendezvous with Apophis shortly after its close approach in 2029, while the European Space Agency is sending a spacecraft to study it.
When the April 2029 flyby occurs, Apophis will become a member of the “Apollo” group, the family of asteroids that cross Earth’s orbit but that themselves have orbits around the sun that are wider than the Earth’s, according to the ESA.
Luigi Mangione appears for a suppression of evidence hearing in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan Criminal Court on December 18, 2025 in New York City. Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione spoke out in court on Friday as Judge Gregory Carro tentatively scheduled his state murder case to begin on June 8.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett announced that Mangione’s federal trial will begin with jury selection on Sept. 8 and opening statements on Oct. 13. But Carro said Friday that he believes the state case should go to trial first.
“It appears that the federal government has reneged on their agreement to let the state, who did most of the work in this case, to go first,” he remarked at the beginning of the hearing.
Carro ended the hearing with a stern directive to defense lawyers, who repeatedly pushed back on the June 8 trial date.
“You have done a great job, so be ready on June 8,” Carro told the defense. “That’s it.”
Seconds later, Mangione himself protested the judge’s decision as he was escorted out of court.
Mangione, shackled and wearing tan jail attire, looked toward the gallery and loudly said, “One plus one is two. Double jeopardy, by any common-sense definition.”
Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo repeatedly argued during the hearing that the June date would leave them unprepared and would be unfair to Mangione.
“The defense will not be ready on June 8,” she said. “Mr. Mangione is being put in an untenable situation that is a tug of war between two different prosecution officers.”
Prosecutor Joel Seidemann responded by arguing that the defense is trying to deprive [them] of a right to try the case” by creating a double jeopardy issue.
“It is absolutely unfair that Mr. Seidemann wants two bites of the apple,” Friedman Agnifilo said. “New York state has a double jeopardy law for a reason.”
“Counsel is seeking to jeopardize us out of the federal case,” Seidemann responded. “We have every reason to be the prosecuting authority.”
Seidemann argued that state prosecutors and investigators have done the bulk of the investigation and should be able to try a murder that took place on the streets of Manhattan. He claimed that the family of the victim, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, requested that the state case go first.
“That’s something certainly to be considered,” Seidemann said.
While Carro suggested that defense lawyers could resolve the conflict by asking the federal judge to delay the federal case, Friedman Agnifilo said she would not do so.
“It would be legal malpractice for us to do something that is not in our client’s best interest,” she said. “We have been working round the clock in both cases, fighting both cases.”
Carro said he could push the trial date to Sept. 8 if the Department of Justice decides to appeal a ruling in Mangione’s federal case.
Mangione, who is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in December 2024, has pleaded not guilty to the state and federal charges. The federal judge last week took the death penalty off the table in the federal case.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced on Sunday that a woman missing in Arizona is the mother of “Today Show” host Savannah Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department)
(NEW YORK) — There is evidence of a crime at the home of the missing 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, according to authorities in Arizona.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen in the Catalina Foothills area on Saturday night, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Her family reported her missing on Sunday around noon local time, authorities said.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said investigators processed her home on Sunday and “saw some things at the home that were concerning to us,” and that it is considered a crime scene.
“She did not leave on her own, we know that,” Nanos said during a press briefing on Monday.
Nancy Guthrie is described as having some physical ailments and limited mobility, but does not have cognitive issues, her family said, according to the sheriff.
She takes medication that if she doesn’t have in 24 hours, “it could be fatal,” Nanos said Monday.
“So we make a plea to anyone that knows anything about this, who has seen something, heard something, to contact us, call 911,” he said, urging residents to check any home security cameras.
The search and rescue effort for Nancy Guthrie, which was conducted late into Sunday night “to no avail,” has ended for the time being, Nanos said.
“Right now, we don’t see this as a search mission, as much as we do a crime scene,” he said.
The FBI said it is assisting in the investigation.
There’s no indication at this time that the public is in danger, authorities said.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen Saturday night by family members, Nanos said. Her children brought her home, where she lives alone, around 9:45 p.m. local time, according to Nanos. The following morning, her family got a call from their mother’s church saying she wasn’t there, he said.
“The family went to the house. I’m thinking they spent some time looking for her themselves before they called us,” he said.
Investigators found “circumstances on scene that we believe are suspicious in nature,” Sgt. David Stivers from the sheriff’s department’s homicide team, said during the press briefing Monday, though he did not go into further detail.
Authorities said they are reviewing the home’s security cameras and have Nancy Guthrie’s cellphone.
It is unclear if this was targeted, Nanos said. When asked whether Savannah Guthrie has received any threats, the sheriff said his department has been in touch with her security team and is unaware of any such threats at the moment.
“We’re not going to dismiss any angles for sure, but right now, immediately, we don’t know of anything like that,” Nanos said.
An NBCUniversal spokesperson confirmed early on Monday that Nancy Guthrie is missing and said the family is “working closely with local law enforcement.”
“On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support,” Savannah Guthrie said in a statement read by Craig Melvin on the “Today” show on Monday. “Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom.”
“We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900,” the statement continued.
ABC News’ Cecilie Larcher contributed to this report.
