Key Takeaways:
Missouri AG Catherine Hanaway sued Coinflip on May 20, 2026, seeking up to $1,826,000 in civil penalties under the MMPA.Coinflip’s 140-plus Missouri BTMs charge fees up to 21.9%, with one 80-year-old veteran losing up to $200,000 in a single scam.The lawsuit seeks a court injunction halting Coinflip operations in Missouri until stronger fraud-prevention measures are in place.“Coinflip has become the getaway car for financial predators targeting Missouri residents,” Hanaway states in the filing. “While scammers take the bulk of the victims’ money, Coinflip takes a large cut from every transaction and has hidden just how large that cut really is.”
The complaint details three victim cases. An 80-year-old veteran lost between $180,000 and $200,000 between September 2025 and March 2026 to a scammer using the name “Selina Lee,” who directed him to deposit cash into Coinflip machines while posing as an investment advisor.
He sold his vehicle, drained investment accounts, and nearly lost his apartment. A second victim deposited $1,000 at a vape shop kiosk after a caller impersonating a Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy told her she faced arrest warrants for missing jury duty. Coinflip refunded only $182.38 in fees. A third victim deposited $900 at a machine labeled “FDIC Police Monitored” after a similar fake warrant scam. She reportedly recovered nothing, the filing notes.
“Coinflip knows that its machines are routinely used to perpetrate devastating financial fraud,” Hanaway claimed.
The Missouri AG added:
“The company profits from every one of those transactions. That is not a business model Missouri will tolerate.”
“The Attorney General is wrongfully targeting the company that championed the law that protects Missourians from criminal scammers. Rather than waste taxpayer money pursuing a licensed and regulated company, the Attorney General’s office should investigate, catch and stop those criminals preying on Missourians across the financial services ecosystem. Coinflip will fight this lawsuit aggressively, and we look forward to demonstrating that these allegations are baseless.”
The state seeks civil penalties of up to $1,826,000, calculated at $1,000 per MMPA violation over five years, along with restitution for victims statewide and a court order suspending Coinflip’s Missouri operations until it implements effective fraud-prevention measures.
