US Police Seize 18 Illegal Crypto ATMs from Coindawg

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US law enforcement agencies confiscated 18 crypto ATMs from the Coindawg LLC organization, which were purchased with money obtained fraudulently from the government.

The US Department of Justice reported thatCoindawg founder Charles Riley Constant submitted applications for loans from the US Small Business Administration (SBA). These funds were intended to help small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The prosecutor's office reported that since the fall of 2020Constant and his accomplices used forged documents and created fictitious companies to obtain seven loans totaling more than $1 million. Constant used about $700,000 of the proceeds to purchase Bitcoin on a New York cryptocurrency exchange.

In addition, Constant organized a business forthe production of cryptomats through which he laundered money, the prosecutor’s office claims. To date, more than $3 million worth of cryptocurrencies have been exchanged through Coindawg, and the service fee is 15%. Law enforcement officers seized 18 crypto ATMs from Constant in the states of Texas and Oklahoma.

If Constant is found guilty, hefaces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering and 10 years for illegally receiving and spending public funds.

According to Coin ATM Radar, in the first two monthsBy 2023, the number of crypto ATMs has decreased by 412 devices. At the same time, Australia and Poland have become the leading countries in the installation of crypto ATMs in the world.